Post CFP day - in between showers

The tug, Hellas is still at anchor in the Bay......

time to harry a stranger on the shore

as the local gulls take exception to the heron on Tolcarne rocks......

empty quays are a sign of good weather and neap tides......

and someone with all the right paperwork is looking for a berth......

with only inshore boats putting landing ashore it's all quality on the market floor this morning as the dory season begins to show signs of starting......

and not forgetting the staple diet of a handful of dedicated punt men like the Boy Dylan......

of course there are always a couple of boats between trips......

and a gaggle of visiting yellow-wellies.......

while the spotlight seems to be shining on the gaps......

one of the smallest boats to grace the slip, the St Ives catamaran, Dignity gets a scrub and paint below the waterline......

work in progress......

as another shower passes over the Mount.....

Newlyn gets a dose of sunshine......

time to go.

Breton fishing initiatives

Off the north coast of Brittany, here's an example of how for twenty years working on an informal basis, different fishing groups have mutually agreed to work together in a specific area for the benefit of all.




Chart A

Open publication

Chart B

Open publication

Crucial CFP talks in Brussels today.

Fishermen and fisheries leaders from all over the UK are willing the EU to come up with a radical and workable way forward in the wake of today's crucial Fisheries Council CFP meeting in Brussels.

LETTER FROM RICHARD BENYON:

We all know that the current Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) is broken and no one wants to see it continue to erode the livelihoods of our fishermen and blight the marine environment. I am committed to going into this week’s important negotiations with a view to us achieving our objectives of sustainable fish stocks, a prosperous fishing industry and a healthy marine environment. We’ve come a long way since the detailed negotiations began in September 2011 and this week’s Fisheries Council provides a clear opportunity to continue pushing the reform in the direction we need. This will not be easy – the ambitions that I hold are not shared by all – but I will be working hard to deliver as much as I possibly can. We will continue to press for robust commitments to ensure we can eliminate discards quickly, reflecting the strength of feeling among the British public that we need to tackle this terrible waste. I’ve set out the objectives we are fighting for in these negotiations, but as one of 27 participants round the table I can’t pre-empt the outcome, but what I can do is make clear the UK will not shy away from these objectives and will continue to fight for a fairer deal for UK fishermen and the marine environment.

Richard Benyon UK Fisheries Minister

These days the focus of attention for the majority of Uk fishermen - ie those who would qualify for membership of the Under 10metres association NUTFA - has to be the derisory quota system that now operates in favour of the bigger vessels who are managed via their producer organisations - like the CFPO in the south west.

In the wake of the recent Fishermen's Friend event held in Plymouth last weekend, Jerry Percy, chief executive of the New Under Ten Fishermen's Association, admitted there had been concerns about teaming up with Greenpeace. But he said both sides had spent "30 years throwing stones at each other", which had got them nowhere.
Mr Percy said quotas had to "reward" those fishermen who "increased their sustainability and reduce their impact" and not be based on "historic rights". They had wrongly become "commodities to be bought and sold".
He said reform of the EU's CFP – which is due later this year – represented the "last chance" for change for decades.

Richard Lockhead is quoted saying, "Our fishermen and our fishing communities are counting on the next CFP to show common sense. They are counting on the Council to acknowledge the great work that is taking place to conserve fish stocks and increase sustainability. And they are counting on the support of the whole of Scotland as we continue to fight to protect their livelihoods and their communities.”

Full coverage of the events leading up to the meeting in yesterday's Guardian.

Orinico Flo St Mary's lifeboat tow update

These days the AIS shows just how GPS linked in with an autopilot allows vessels to reciprocate a course exactly - even a tow!

With the islands now in sight, the St Mary's lifeboat The Whiteheads with the dismasted yacht, Orinco Flo is nearing the end of her 150 mile tow job.


The Cornish owned yacht left Antigua back in May and was due back in Cornwall some time ago. The yacht's owner had contacted Falmouth Coastguard on the 27th May concerned that the vessel was overdue. 


With the VHF radio now limited in range, a passing 246m tanker, Eagle Turin was the last boat to be in contact with the yacht and had provided food, though the skipper declined any assistance deciding to continue on passage with a jury rigged sail. 


After Falmouth Coastguard involved an SAR helicopter from RNAS Culdrose the skipper was contacted again and he agreed to accept a tow form the St Mary's lifeboat which was duly despatched yesterday evening.

This AIS screenshot from VesselTracker AIS show both the lifeboat and the Orinoco Flo now berthed alongside the quay at St Marys after the 14 hour round trip tow.

Birthday Boy!

Newlyn stalwart - the man who made more chips than Jewels - and the man with these initials' birthday today!

Scillies lifeboat goes to rescue 'missing' dismasted yacht 100 miles off the Scillies.

St Mary's lifeboat is currently steaming WSW of the islands to go and pick up a dismasted yacht that has been 'missing' for 11 days.

This was the last recorded AIS position recorded by the yacht after leaving Antigua.

The catamaran was said to be making "very slow progress" towards Falmouth with an improvised mast and sail rigged by the skipper - photo courtesy of RNAS Culdrose SAR

Here's the story from the BBC:

A catamaran which had been apparently missing for nine days, has been found by a search and rescue helicopter from RNAS Culdrose. The crew from 771 Squadron found the dismasted vessel about 100 nautical miles off the Cornish coast. The Orinoco Flo, which was en route to Falmouth from Antigua, was last seen on 2 June but had been out of radio contact since. The skipper, who had rigged an improvised mast and sail, was unhurt. The catamaran's radio had been damaged when the mast fell, he said. The skipper told the helicopter crew he had food and water on board, but with his boat making "very slow progress" and poor weather forecast, he would accept the offer of a tow to the Isles of Scilly by the St Mary's all-weather lifeboat.

Looking for a fair deal on fish law reform

Make sure the fisheries minister delivers a fair deal on fish law reform

Here's the latest post on Greenpeace's web site post World Ocean's Day when the Fisherman's Friend Campaign launched in the South West at Plymouth Aquarium with support from Cornish artist, Kurt Jackson.

"Last Friday was World Oceans Day. Being an oceans campaigner that, on one hand, means a lot – but on the other it begs the question of why the rest of the world doesn’t think about oceans all the other days, like I do!? 

We marked the day with an event in Plymouth, sharing a stage with fishermen, the National Marine Aquarium, and artist Kurt Jackson, to officially launch our Be a Fisherman’s Friend campaign in the south west. As if to illustrate how we can’t just leave the fate of our oceans to one day each year, all the while I was in Plymouth we were also frantically preparing for a crucial meeting on European fisheries reform. 

This week - tomorrow in fact - European fisheries ministers face a crunch meeting as part of the process of reforming Europe’s fish laws. This is something that affects all of us, whether we are interested in fish, fishing, or conservation, and something we have to pressure our elected representatives to get right. 

You might have seen the full page advert in the Times today, one that was replicated in Polish, Spanish and French newspapers, by the fine people at Hugh’s Fish Fight. They were letting our ministers know that we, the tax-paying European public, are watching them, and expect a fair deal from this reform process. 

There are a few headline issues at stake tomorrow, such as the recovery of our fish stocks (pretty fundamental, when 70% of Europe’s fish stocks are currently overfished), and an agreement to end the scandal of discards. It also looks worryingly like ministers might backtrack on progress to make distant water fishing fleets (that’s European boats catching fish in places like West Africa and the Indian Ocean) better regulated, and ensure they are not simply stealing other people's fish. 
We all need to make sure that our elected representatives know we care that they get this stuff right – so if you’re on Twitter, then do please tweet at the UK minister @RichardBenyonMP and demand a strong, meaningful reform of those European laws that have let us down so badly. And closer to home you can also remind our minister that he can, and should, also ensure a fairer deal for the low-impact end of the fishing industry.

Greenpeace is working with fishermen in many EU countries, including here in the UK, to try and give the more responsible parts of the sector preferential access to fishing quotas – something that should be a no-brainer, really. 

That’s the essence of our Be a Fisherman’s Friend campaign, and if you haven’t done so already, send your own personalised sea shanty petition to Richard Benyon to join the campaign.

Today may not be World Ocean’s Day, but with this crucial meeting tomorrow, it’s a hugely important day for you to speak up for our oceans, our fish, and our sustainable fishermen."