Yet another fishing family prepared to invest in the future of fishing, the Newlyn netter, currently sporting her Lorient registration name and numbers...
has arrived in Newlyn.
Sunday 16 December 2012
Stelissa'a new Newlyn home
Yet another fishing family prepared to invest in the future of fishing, the Newlyn netter, currently sporting her Lorient registration name and numbers...
has arrived in Newlyn.
Friday 14 December 2012
Fishermen fear ‘one size fits all’ policy on discards
Westcountry fishing leaders warned a trial suggesting more selective fishing could be the key to ditching discards was too small to be representative of the industry.
According to research conducted by the Marine Management Organisation, carefully controlled fishing methods reduced the number of discards to virtually zero.
But Jim Portus, chief executive of the South West Fish Producers Organisation and chairman of the UK Association of Fish Producers, urged caution. He said the trial involved just seven Westcountry boats – an insufficient sample on which to build pillars of the new Common Fisheries Policy currently being hammered out in Brussels.
"This is too small a piece of information on which to base a big piece of legislation," he said. "We need to be very careful before applying this very small trial to a very big fishing industry."
The discard policy, which forces crews to throw away immature fish or species caught when a quota has been reached – regardless of whether the fish is dead or alive – is loathed as wasteful by both fishermen and conservationists.
However, the MMO reported discards of important stocks such as sole, cod, plaice, megrim and anglerfish were drastically reduced in the trials, which involved seven vessels from the Westcountry and 12 from the North Sea.
According to its research, in the Western Channel, a discard rate of 28% of sole caught was reduced to 0.1%, while a discard rate of megrim was reduced from 12% to 1.3%.
The MMO said the methods used could be an alternative way of managing the industry.
The boats taking part were barred from throwing away any of the species in the trials, including those below the minimum size. All had their quota limit raised for the duration of the trial and had to land all fish of these species that they caught, so they all counted against the quota. On-board monitoring equipment, including CCTV, was used to ensure the rules were obeyed.
Mr Portus said: "The results are good and they are worth considering. But what I do not want to see is a 'one size fits all' policy.
"Yes, we can have a trial of seven vessels but the reality is there is a myriad of different fishing vessels and fisheries out there.
"I am really worried that we will be taking a snapshot of a small part of the fishing industry. The results are good for seven vessels, but that does not mean to say they are good for 700 vessels or 7,000 vessels."
Andrew Pillar, fleet manager at Plymouth-based Interfish, which had three boats in the trial, said: "It's important that these trials have involved fishermen from the start to see how practical measures can improve selectivity and reduce discards."
He added: "We want to continue testing this concept with more species to see if it can make a long-term difference."
According to research conducted by the Marine Management Organisation, carefully controlled fishing methods reduced the number of discards to virtually zero.
But Jim Portus, chief executive of the South West Fish Producers Organisation and chairman of the UK Association of Fish Producers, urged caution. He said the trial involved just seven Westcountry boats – an insufficient sample on which to build pillars of the new Common Fisheries Policy currently being hammered out in Brussels.
"This is too small a piece of information on which to base a big piece of legislation," he said. "We need to be very careful before applying this very small trial to a very big fishing industry."
The discard policy, which forces crews to throw away immature fish or species caught when a quota has been reached – regardless of whether the fish is dead or alive – is loathed as wasteful by both fishermen and conservationists.
However, the MMO reported discards of important stocks such as sole, cod, plaice, megrim and anglerfish were drastically reduced in the trials, which involved seven vessels from the Westcountry and 12 from the North Sea.
According to its research, in the Western Channel, a discard rate of 28% of sole caught was reduced to 0.1%, while a discard rate of megrim was reduced from 12% to 1.3%.
The MMO said the methods used could be an alternative way of managing the industry.
The boats taking part were barred from throwing away any of the species in the trials, including those below the minimum size. All had their quota limit raised for the duration of the trial and had to land all fish of these species that they caught, so they all counted against the quota. On-board monitoring equipment, including CCTV, was used to ensure the rules were obeyed.
Mr Portus said: "The results are good and they are worth considering. But what I do not want to see is a 'one size fits all' policy.
"Yes, we can have a trial of seven vessels but the reality is there is a myriad of different fishing vessels and fisheries out there.
"I am really worried that we will be taking a snapshot of a small part of the fishing industry. The results are good for seven vessels, but that does not mean to say they are good for 700 vessels or 7,000 vessels."
Andrew Pillar, fleet manager at Plymouth-based Interfish, which had three boats in the trial, said: "It's important that these trials have involved fishermen from the start to see how practical measures can improve selectivity and reduce discards."
He added: "We want to continue testing this concept with more species to see if it can make a long-term difference."
New ex-French netter steams for Newlyn
Not enough water in the gaps is keeping Mr Hosking and the boys from getting in Through the Gaps after their long steam from Lorient...
 Two and a half hours to go...  |
| The AIS tracks the boat after leaving Lorient. |
There's a new netter heading for Newlyn! The Stelissa II is a gill netter from Lorient. She is a being brought home by the same family that own and skipper the Silver Dawn.
Thursday 13 December 2012
Government seeks views on proposed Marine Conservations Zones
The Government is pressing ahead with its
plans to create Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs) to protect the UK’s
rich marine environment, Natural Environment Minister Richard Benyon
announced today.
A consultation outlining the proposals for the first set of sites has
been launched today, and will give coastal communities and those with
an interest in the marine environment, the opportunity to have a say in
its future.
The Government is proposing to designate around 10,900 km2
of marine habitat in the first phase next year. The 31 proposed sites
provide a home to a variety of animals and plants, such as corals,
jellyfish and seahorses. The area, roughly three times the size of
Cornwall, will mean these are all given greater protection.
Launching the consultation, Richard Benyon said:
“The UK has one of the world’s richest marine environments, and we
need to make sure it stays that way. This is why we are creating a
network of marine protected areas.
“We have to get this right. Designating the right sites in the right
places, so that our seas are sustainable, productive and healthy, and to
ensure that the right balance is struck between conservation and
industry.
“We have carefully considered the evidence, and these 31 sites are the ones that are suitable to be designated next year.”
The proposed sites will to contribute to a network of marine
protected areas and will complement the 8.4% of UK waters and 24% of
English inshore waters already within protected areas.
The consultation will seek views on proposals for the designation of
MCZs in English inshore and English and Welsh offshore waters.
It presents an opportunity for those with an interest to make their
views known, and to submit any new evidence that should be considered
and includes proposals on how the proposed sites will be treated.
The consultation also provides clarification on:
- reference areas. These will not be included in the first phase but will be subject to further review; and
- the treatment of MCZs at different stages in the designation process in licensing decisions. To assist developers in the marine area we have clarified how we consider that developments should be treated in or near MCZs so that economic growth is not inhibited unnecessarily.
Designating MCZs to contribute to a network of Marine Protected Areas
is a Government commitment under the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009
to ensure that our marine environment is protected for years to come.
Notes
The consultation will run until 31 March 2013 and can be found here: www.defra.gov.uk/consult/2012/12/13/marine-conservation-zones-1212/.
Four stakeholder-led Regional MCZ Projects were established to
recommend the possible sites: Irish Seas Conservation Zones (Irish
Seas), Finding Sanctuary (South West waters), Balanced Seas (South East
waters) and Net Gain (North Sea) managed by the Statutory Nature
Conservation Bodies (the SNCBs: Natural England and the Joint Nature
Conservation Committee). These brought together stakeholders with
interests in marine industries, marine ecology and conservation, and the
regulators.
The final reports from the Regional MCZ Projects can be viewed here: http://publications.naturalengland.org.uk/publication/2080291.
The SNCB advice can be viewed here: www.naturalengland.org.uk/ourwork/marine/mpa/mcz/advice.aspx.
Irish prawn trawler arrested on the Smalls and escorted to Newlyn
MARIA MAGDALENA, the Irish prawn trawler
from Galway arrested and escorted to Newlyn, Cornwall for alleged fishing offences....
the boats was fishing for prawns (langoustine) on the Smalls ground using 120mm mesh (the legal minimum size is 110)...
she is an ex-French trawler from Guilvenec....
Skipper David O'Neill, leans on the rail of his boat.
The Smalls grounds for langoustine.
Wednesday 12 December 2012
How Catch Share Programs Benefit Small Scale Fishermen
It surprises many that local, small scale and artisanal fishing communities thrive under a well-designed
system of secure and equitably distributed access privileges. Yet these are the very fishermen for whom
catch shares first evolved. ‘Modern’ programs have roots in traditions of coastal communities who
found practical ways to reduce conflict and waste while fairly allocating and valuing finite resources.
Political economists and anthropologists like the late Nobel Laureate Elinor Ostrom have documented
their spontaneous emergence in diverse fisheries. Each is unique; all share certain patterns. These
include clearly defined boundaries, known rules, recognized tenure, self-imposed sanctions, customary
laws, internal exchanges.
Fiji’s fishing groups formed goligoi, self-organized and self-enforced tenure system still active today. Japan’s ainu organize native fisheries in ways that date to the feudal era. Spatial, territorial and place-based catch share systems evolved globally for the benefit of small scale fishermen from Chile to the Gulf of Maine to the lakeshores of Eastern Africa to the seashores of India.
These deep and wide examples of ancient practice ensure catch shares can build on a secure foundation of tradition. They provide a better opportunity than top-down regulatory systems for equitable distribution of access to fishery resources. Instead of rewarding those few blessed with capital, catch shares hold opportunity for most stakeholders without. Indeed, smart and participatory catch share design can – and already does – ensure equity for all by protecting and promoting certain small scale constituents as part of the overriding program goal, right from the start.
Legitimate concerns about ‘fair’ allocation tend to be a legacy from the old broken regulatory system, in which equity was lacking, and where small-scale local fishermen had to keep racing for a dwindling slice, of a shrinking supply base, against larger and faster vessels from a distant port. Under open access, Cape Cod’s hook and line fishermen were failing to compete with better equipped trawlers, but a secure and scientifically accountable quota created a sector cooperative: one that leveled the playing field.
Catch shares are more democratic. Collective management allocates privileges of, by, for, and within communities as a way to redress past inequality. Hence under catch share programs, native Maori now hold tenure over half of New Zealand’s fish ; remote Native Americans along the coast of our largest State hold a fifth of all fish under catch shares in Alaska’s Community Development Quota. Even quota trading rules often benefit small scale fishermen. Alaskans designed their catch share exchanges for halibut and sablefish so that smaller-boat fishermen can purchase or lease shares from exiting larger vessels at a fair price – but not vice versa. Other catch shares set aside quota for the community, holding back shares as a social safety net for certain at risk fishermen as a buffer to build local resilience to external climatic and market forces.
Rather than break with the past, catch shares embrace proven traditions, restoring what for centuries has worked to benefit the indigenous experience of local fishermen with an equitable stake in the long term value of their fishery. As with fish, so with the small scale families who fish them: what robust health the rise of big, industrial global forces nearly eradicated, catch shares put firmly back into place.
Article courtesy of EDF.
Fiji’s fishing groups formed goligoi, self-organized and self-enforced tenure system still active today. Japan’s ainu organize native fisheries in ways that date to the feudal era. Spatial, territorial and place-based catch share systems evolved globally for the benefit of small scale fishermen from Chile to the Gulf of Maine to the lakeshores of Eastern Africa to the seashores of India.
These deep and wide examples of ancient practice ensure catch shares can build on a secure foundation of tradition. They provide a better opportunity than top-down regulatory systems for equitable distribution of access to fishery resources. Instead of rewarding those few blessed with capital, catch shares hold opportunity for most stakeholders without. Indeed, smart and participatory catch share design can – and already does – ensure equity for all by protecting and promoting certain small scale constituents as part of the overriding program goal, right from the start.
Legitimate concerns about ‘fair’ allocation tend to be a legacy from the old broken regulatory system, in which equity was lacking, and where small-scale local fishermen had to keep racing for a dwindling slice, of a shrinking supply base, against larger and faster vessels from a distant port. Under open access, Cape Cod’s hook and line fishermen were failing to compete with better equipped trawlers, but a secure and scientifically accountable quota created a sector cooperative: one that leveled the playing field.
Catch shares are more democratic. Collective management allocates privileges of, by, for, and within communities as a way to redress past inequality. Hence under catch share programs, native Maori now hold tenure over half of New Zealand’s fish ; remote Native Americans along the coast of our largest State hold a fifth of all fish under catch shares in Alaska’s Community Development Quota. Even quota trading rules often benefit small scale fishermen. Alaskans designed their catch share exchanges for halibut and sablefish so that smaller-boat fishermen can purchase or lease shares from exiting larger vessels at a fair price – but not vice versa. Other catch shares set aside quota for the community, holding back shares as a social safety net for certain at risk fishermen as a buffer to build local resilience to external climatic and market forces.
Rather than break with the past, catch shares embrace proven traditions, restoring what for centuries has worked to benefit the indigenous experience of local fishermen with an equitable stake in the long term value of their fishery. As with fish, so with the small scale families who fish them: what robust health the rise of big, industrial global forces nearly eradicated, catch shares put firmly back into place.
Article courtesy of EDF.
French trawler off Castletownbeare aground
 |
French trawler off Castletownbeare waits to be refloated tonight at high water. |
3x navy vessels standing by 2 assist French vessel aground in Castletownbere, no immediate risk to life and plan to refloat at 1am with tide
Photo courtesy of:
Niall Duffy
@WestCorkPhoto
http://www.westcorkphoto.com Press & PR Photographer based in West Cork.South West Correspondent for Irish Skipper. Mob:086-8937916
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