Blowing through the harbour

Gear store and energy canned...

two of the bigger new recent investments in the port...

weather is keeping these Dutch eurocutters in port, a familiar sight with their cod ends airing in the breeze...

a right pair, wont be long before the Hosking's new netter gets in her first trip under her new registration...

a stern view of the Dutch boats sheltering for weather...

parked up and waiting for fish - Newlyn, despite its extreme location has excellent transport links with the rest of the UK and Europe.

Bugaled Breizh: the hypothesis of a submarine again rejected

Bugaled Breizh on her way in to Loctudy, her home port in Brittany.

Three reports from the media in France covering the news today exonerating involvement of the British submarine Turbulence in the sinking of the trawler Bugaeld Breizh, january 15th 2004. The Bugaled Breizh, the second of trawler of that name owned and skippered by Michelle Douce was a regular visitor to Newlyn in times of bad weather. She sheltered in the port only a few days before accident which saw the loss of five lives. Skipper, Michelle Douce was ashore at the time of the loss owing to an injury which had kept him from going to see for nearly a year. He was due to return to sea the next voyage.

The Bugaled Breizh entering Newlyn harbour sheltering from bad weather around 1995

Watched by Billy Stevenson from the comfort of his car, another Loctudy trawler, Kristel Vihan enters Newlyn  24 hours after the local fleet had tied up for weather.

A new expert report submitted to the judge questions the origin of traces of titanium hull trawler, which was attributed to a far underwater. The plaintiffs react. By Stéphane GrammontPosted on 25/01/2013 | 11:10 

The mystery remains about the causes of the sinking of Bugaled Breizh off Britain in 2004. Two experts, whose results were released Friday by the prosecutor of Nantes, away from the idea of ​​the involvement of a submarine in the accident, which left five missing. The first expert examined the presence of titanium on the warps (cables) Breton trawler. According to Brigitte Lamy, the prosecutor, this data is "not significant involvement of a submarine." The second expertise, the British submarine Turbulent, involved a time in the accident, was "well dock" the day of the sinking, said Brigitte Lamy, in a comminiqué. The victims' families have been waiting several months these two appraisals. They are convinced of the involvement of a submarine sinking brutal, remained unexplained, the trawler. January 15, 2004, during the accident, NATO and the British Navy conducting military exercises in the area. The two judges of Nantes in charge of the case had appointed three experts to check whether the traces of titanium found on the trawler could have come from contact with a submarine. "At the end of this report, which has been filed, the experts have to say that the element 'titanium' found in tiny amounts on the warps Bugaled Breizh were not significant involvement in a submarine, "wrote the attorney Nantes.

On the other hand, a separate report, told a French specialist submarine forces, was to examine the possible involvement in the sinking of the British submarine Turbulent. "According to the conclusions of the report and on the basis of technical information relating to the position of military buildings at the time of the sinking, the expert considers that the British submarine in question was well Shore January 15, 2004 and that sea rescue dispatched to the area by the British authorities have been under normal conditions, "the statement said Brigitte Lamy. 

Sinking of Bugaled Breizh: no submarine in question?

The wreck of Bugaled Breizh is bailed small Traces of titanium found on the warps Bugaled Breizh led the judges of Nantes, in charge of the case since July 2012, to nominate three experts. They should check whether these traces could be from a collision with a submarine. 

Counsel for the Republic of Nantes Brigitte Lamy said in a press release that " the element "titanium" found in tiny amounts on the warps Bugaled BREIZH was not significant involvement of a submarine. " Indeed, apart from two Russian submarines designed in the 60s, the exterior of submarines, whether conventional or nuclear attack is free from any form of titanium, which does, in very low levels in the sub-layers of paint. 

Experts could not say, for against that titanium could come from the original painting of Bugaled Breizh. It is not only present in the form of dioxide in painting trawler, but also in other ports. Traces on the warps can been made ​​by friction on the hull or on the docks. reaction of Me Kermarrec, counsel for the plaintiffs

Moreover, the statement continued, "a separate report was presented during the fall, a French specialist submarine forces, charged by the judges to give its opinion on the possible involvement of a submarine of the Royal Navy." 

According to the conclusions of the report and on the basis of technical information relating to the position of military buildings at the time of the sinking, the expert considers that the British submarine in question was well Shore January 15, 2004, as did know his commander, and the sea rescue dispatched to the area by the British authorities were in normal conditions. Bugaled Breizh The case of a timeline



Story courtesy of Bretagne newspaper.

The trawler sank Bugaled Breizh January 15, 2004, in international waters of the English Channel, off the Lizard. Five sailors died in the sinking.

----- 2004 -----

- 15 January: Bugaled Breizh sank off the Lizard (south-west England), killing five crew members. The next day, the maritime prefecture of Brest reveals that international military exercise took place in the area.

- January 19: Attorney Quimper excludes a collision with a submarine and evokes a collision with a container Philippine, Seattle Trader.

- June 7: analyzes paint exonerate the Seattle Trader.

- July 10: The wreck is raised.

----- 2005 -----

- March 24: private expertise advance the "most likely hypothesis" a"note" with a submarine thesis rejected by the Ministry of Defence.

- April 14: Journalists refer to the British submarine Turbulent, denies that the British Ministry of Defence.

- October 13: The Bureau of Investigation and Analysis (BEA Wed) does not track the submarine.

- December 9: lifting of military secrecy on military exercise Jan. 15.

----- 2006 -----

- July 20: Defence said he sent to Justice "all documents declassified NATO" .

- 1st September: after new expertise, the judge mentions "the hypothesis of a building submarine" .

- September 21: National Laboratory tests revealed traces "unexplained"titanium on the trawl cable port, reinforcing this view.

- 27 November: BEA Wed concludes hooking a sandbank by the fishing gear and not a submarine.

----- 2007 -----

- February 28: Attorney says no submarine was British or Dutch in the area.

----- 2008 -----

- March 5: Families complain of poor international cooperation and require the intervention of President Nicolas Sarkozy.

- April 12: The judges reaffirm that submarine hypothesis is "the most serious in the state of the record" , that denies the floor.

----- 2009 -----

- January 13: The judge rejected the family's request to investigate the position of the submarine. They call.

- November 11: Minister of Defense Herve Morin promises to "put everything on the table" and provides that "no French submarine" is involved.

- November 27: The Court of Appeal of Rennes ordered a further investigation and entrust this task to the expert Dominique Salles, a former submariner.

----- 2010 -----

- April 30: report mentions the alleged liability of a U.S. submarine.

- July 2: Court of Appeal of Rennes decided "further judicial information in order to identify the submarine in question" and appointed two new judges to Nantes.

----- 2011 -----

- June 17: A new report concluded that the titanium one of the cables of the trawler "can not be considered as an indication of the presence of a submarine" . This report from Mr. Salles, a former submarine officer, is described as "dirty trick" by a lawyer of the victims.

----- 2013 -----

- January 25: expertise, at the request of judges assigned to the case Nantes, considers the presence of titanium cables trawler as "no significant involvement of a submarine" , and a second concludes that the British submarine Turbulent was "  well dock " that day

NB: These stories have been mechanically translated by Google.

How Behavioral Economics Could Save Both the Fishing Industry and the Oceans

Here's an interesting take on fisheries management from the Harvard Review - through incentivising the fishing communities around the globe.

It's frightening enough that 87% of the world's assessed fisheries are fully or over-exploited. But it is even scarier to consider how little we know about the condition of most of the world's fisheries, because four-fifths of them have never been scientifically assessed. A recent study in the journal Science is providing fresh insights into thousands of fisheries where data has not been previously available. These "data poor" fisheries make up 80% of the world's catch — and many are on the brink of collapse.

Despite the dire news, there is a bright spot in the study. The authors conclude that the ocean is nowhere near a lost cause and with the right management tools, the abundance of fish could increase by 56%. In some places, the study says, fisheries yields could more than double.

This isn't just a big deal for the fish. As the authors of the Science study write, "When sustainably managed, marine fisheries provide food and livelihoods for hundreds of millions of people worldwide." So what's the key to seeing such a rebound become reality? An approach to overseeing fisheries known as rights-based management, or catch shares.

Over the past decade, catch shares have taken hold in U.S. waters, ensuring the sustainability of about 65% of the fish landed in the United States. This is the greatest unknown policy success of our time. Don't take my word for it — I work for the Environmental Defense Fund, a policy shop that has long championed the approach. Instead, consider the facts that helped lead the authors of the Science article draw that same optimistic conclusion.

Catch shares are a market-based management tool used in commercial fishing that, coupled with catch limits, have been successful in rebuilding fish populations while improving the efficiency and business of fishing. After decades of failed regulatory regimes, catch shares are working for fish and for fishermen. What's unfolding before our eyes is a global behavioral economics study — one that's delivering major benefits to people around the world.

The Gulf of Mexico red snapper fishery, for example, was on the brink of collapse in the early part of the last decade. Fishermen were limited to 52-day seasons that were getting shorter every year. The shortened seasons, an attempt to counter overfishing, hurt fishermen economically and created unsafe "derbies" that often forced them to race into storms like the boats in The Deadliest Catch.

This short window also meant that all of the red snapper were being caught and brought to market at the same time, creating a glut that crashed prices. Many fishermen couldn't even cover the cost of their trip to sea after selling their fish.

A decade ago, the Environmental Defense Fund began working with a group of commercial red snapper fishermen on a new and better way of doing business. Together, we set out to propose a catch share management system for snapper. Simply put, fishermen would be allocated shares based on their catch history (the average amount of fish in pounds they landed each year) of the scientifically determined amount of fish allowed for catch each year (the catch limit). Fishermen could then fish within their shares, or quota, all year long, giving them the flexibility they needed to run their businesses.

This meant no more fishing in dangerously bad weather and no more market gluts. For the consumer, it meant fresh red snapper all year long.

After five years of catch share management, the Gulf of Mexico red snapper fishery is growing because fishermen are staying within the scientific limits. Boats that once suffered from ever-shortening seasons have seen a 60% increase in the amount of fish they are allowed to catch. Having a percentage share of the fishery means fishermen have a built-in incentive to husband the resource, so it will continue to grow.

Another major problem facing commercial fishing is known as discards — a euphemism for the tragic waste of tons of fish thrown overboard dead. Under the Gulf red snapper catch share system, discards have decreased by half. Fewer wasted fish, along with a fishery that stays within its limits, are two keys to rebuilding the resource. On the business end, fishermen have seen a 25% increase in the price they get for their landings of red snapper. The economic incentives for sustainability are clear. Creating a responsible commercial fishery does not have to be at odds with the economic goals of fishermen. In fact, it can make those goals easier to reach.

The success of red snapper fishermen led to the creation of catch share programs for other species and in other regions — grouper and tilefish in the Gulf of Mexico, groundfish in the waters off Northern California, Oregon and Washington State — resulting in similarly impressive increases in revenue and decreases in waste.

In New England, a form of a catch share also produced promising results for groundfish. From 2009 to 2011, groundfish landings were up six percent, revenues for fishermen were up 18% and discards were reduced by two-thirds. But all is not well there. Warming Atlantic waters are leading to migration changes and increases in predator species that prey on cod and compete for food. Declining cod populations led the Obama administration to issue a Disaster Declaration to provide needed relief to fishermen. In New England, catch shares have kept a difficult situation from becoming even worse.

Now the idea is catching on elsewhere. The European Commission has proposed adoption of "Transferable Fishing Concessions," a European version of catch shares that would increase fishermen's incentives to comply with science-based catch limits. And earlier this year, the World Bank announced a global partnership for oceans that includes more than 100 other organizations — governments, private sector interests and NGOs, including the Environmental Defense Fund — to address issues related to overfishing, pollution, and habitat in the world's oceans. Rights-based management programs like catch shares will be a major part of that strategy to address overfishing. At the same time, they will contribute to the health of the global economy; the World Bank estimates that failed fisheries management contributes economic losses of $50 billion annually.

As an experiment in behavioral economics, the results are striking. A look at the varying fisheries management approaches around the world shows that the industry behaves in very different ways under different sets of rules. Overfishing is not a given. The key to solving it is to take human behavior into account, giving the industry more rather than fewer rights and responsibilities, and developing financial rewards for stewardship of the resource. Catch shares accomplish all of this.

It's all too easy to lose hope that human beings will ever rise to the challenge of solving the global environmental crises we face. But we should not despair. The catch shares success story demonstrates that people will respond when we get the right market signals in place.

In other words, we don't have to change human nature to save the seas. We just have to change human incentives. And catch shares give us a very effective way to do just that.

How Behavioral Economics Could Save Both the Fishing Industry and the Oceansby Eric Pooley.

Further insight into how these more proactive fishing community based approaches can be seen here on the Aquamind web site - a fishing consultancy largely suppoprted by a team of very experienced fishermen.

Deep sea fishing - the kind of day you would want to forget.

Life aboard the bigger Spanish trawlers - the early footage shot on the Newfoundland Banks - one of the least forgiving places in the North Atlantic to be caught out in a storm and have to dodge - Rockall or the Gran Sole bank would be similar in home waters- watch carefully from the comfort of your chair from one minute onwards! These ships are nearly two hundred feet long.

Things aren't always what they seem!

The discards story was never going to be an easy one to put across to a fisheries administrators and green organisations - few of whom have any first hand seagoing fishing boat experience to know exactly what happens when fish are hauled aboard - much less Jo Public!

The Real Fish FightHugh's Fish Fight

Many fishermen have recently been working with scientists studying the rates of survival of discarded fish with some so far interesting results. Most flatfish, Plaice, Sole, Skates and Rays along with others survive at 40% to 100% 

So if Hughs Fish Fight is here to blindly stop discards then it very much looks like a discard ban would actually increase massively the mortality without benefit for the fish stocks of fishermen. Its very sad that so many of the public have been duped by Hugh and his cronies.

Cefas Endeavour - January 2013 MCZ Surveys

Surveys of recommended Marine Conservation Zones (rMCZs) in the 'Finding Sanctuary' regional project area in collaboration with Natural England - the reulst fo which should be of particular concern for those who fish in these areas.

Here is the third post from the current Cefas Endeavour survey - poor weather has seen her shirt from a transit off the Scillies to more comfortable and workable waters off Padstow.

The Residents of the Rocky Reef

Posted by Sue on 21 January 2013

On completion of the multibeam survey we were able to look at the processed bathymetry and backscatter data to help us select the position of our drop camera survey stations (shown below).

 

The drop camera is an extremely reliable too for surveying these upstanding rocky reefs where a towed camera (e.g., camera sledge) would most certainly be damaged.  The drop camera is hovered at a consistent height above the reef to allow video of the seabed along the transect to be obtained along with still images of the habitats and their associated fauna.

So, as promised here are some images of a few of the residents of the rocky reef that we captured during our survey.

Top Left: Sea Fan (Eunicella verrucosa), Top Right and Middle Left: Jewel Anemone (Corynactis viridis), Middle Right: Seven-Armed Starfish (Luidia ciliaris), Bottom Left: Spiny Starfish (Marthasterias glacialis), Bottom Right: Ross Coral (Pentapora foliacea).

As perhaps may be expected for this time of year, the weather has taken a turn for the worse so we have decided to move onto our next survey area on the North Coast of Cornwall where (hopefully) we should be able to begin survey (weather permitting).....

Head for the Cefas Endeavour blog here............

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MMO and Mcs redeem mackerel madness!

MCS UK has confirmed #mackerel advice does not apply to south west handline mackerel, one of England's most #sustainable fishing methods!

MCSUK ‏@mcsuk

@The_MMO Handline is certainly most sustainable and least damaging option. See our listings for more detail:http://bit.ly/SuMVND 

Just when the TV and media went into a spin over the downgrading of mackerel from being OK to eat on a regular basis to seldom comes a swift response from the #MMO and Msc - South West handline mackerel can be consumed as and when! Vicory for #common-sense and the guys who fish by hand!