Penzance Harbour damage - So was Option A so bad after all?

At the time Option A to re-develop Penzance harbour was put forward a much heated debated ensued over the physical changes proposed to Penzance Harbour Wall and the area between the Jubilee Pool, Battery Rocks and Penzance Harbour wall. Those who were against this aspect of the scheme (forget the issues over whether or not the Scillonian link would move to Falmouth) might do well to reflect on the recent damage to the sea facing wall in Penzance Harbour - which the proposed armouring and some reclamation of the seabed directly in front of the harbour wall - would have protected.

Given that sections of the promenade which might once have looked impregnable...

are now lying in a heap on the beach and the harbour wall in Penzance has been breached...

perhaps it is time to take on board the fact that the times they are a-changing, sea levels are rising and winter storms are therefore inflicting more damage...

image courtesy of the BBC

as in the extreme case of Lamorna Cove's harbour wall - now lost to the elements.

So much to Sea - at the fishing in the Shetlands

How does the seafood industry affect Shetland? 

 The seafood industry has supported generation after generation of Shetlander, protecting our rural communities and remaining an integral part of our lives. It is currently worth £300 million a year to the islands and surpasses the value of the oil, gas, agriculture, tourism, and creative industries combined.

A Changing Climate in Fisheries Management - listen to the podcast

Listen to the podcast here:

However fast you think climate change is happening on land, it’s happening even faster in the ocean. Marine species are particularly mobile, and they’re quickly moving toward the poles in order to stay cool as things heat up. This poses a challenge to fisheries management because it has the potential to affect our estimates of fish populations. That’s because if the distribution of fish changes—if the fish are no longer where they used to be—then we might over- or undercount them in our surveys. Most types of distribution shift would not affect population estimates because they’d be picked up by the survey. But for those cases where it could be a problem, our scientists are working on a solution. 

 John Manderson is a NOAA Fisheries biologist, and he’s working on the stock assessment for butterfish. By studying the habitat ecology of this species, Manderson hopes to map shifts in butterfish habitat caused by changing ocean temperatures. Those maps can then be used to fine tune estimates of butterfish abundance. To do this, Manderson is working with physical oceanographers that model fine-scale changes in ocean temperatures. He’s also working with stock assessment scientists to find a way to incorporate his mathematical adjustment into their fish population models. 

 The ocean temperature models used in this research are created by MARACOOS Exit. Other contributors include NOAA’s Northeast Cooperative Research Program, the NOAA Fisheries Habitat Assessment Improvement Plan, and the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council Exit. Perhaps most importantly, Manderson is working with fishermen. "Because no one understands the habitat ecology of an animal better than it's predator," he said. Manderson and the scientists and fishermen he’s collaborating with aren’t the only ones working on this problem. All along our coasts, NOAA Fisheries scientists and their partners are developing ways to incorporate environmental data into stock assessments. The world is changing quickly, and this story is just one example among many of how our science is changing with it.

Cornwall fishermen make plea over lost lobster pots - “ We are not asking for any handouts”

Fishermen in Cornwall are calling for help with the cost of replacing hundreds of crab and lobster pots missing or damaged in the storms.

Storm damaged pots - up to £100 each

Many have been restricted to just a few days fishing since December and now they face potentially crippling bills to replace their lost or damaged gear. Newlyn fisherman Robert Broderick says replacing lost crab pots would cost him more than £25,000.

North Cornwall MP Dan Rogerson is meeting fishermen in Padstow later. Mr Broderick said he had lost 510 pots valued at £50 each.

"There have been heavy losses, especially for fishermen on the north coast," he said. "There have not been any earnings for 10 weeks and there's no insurance on fishing equipment because insurers do not offer it with affordable premiums. "We have got to try and find what we have lost but we're not holding out much hope."

'Listen to problems'

He fears that some people will be forced to leave the industry. "We are hoping for some sort of assistance from the government," he said. "We are not asking for any handouts, but some sort of grant to replacing some of the fishing equipment we have lost."

MP Dan Rogerson, a minister at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, said: "We have to assess the scale of the damage and look at what is available to help fishermen from the resources we have at our disposal. "Those resources are under great pressure at the moment given the flooding and storm events we are going through.

"But we will listen to what the problems are and see if we can come up with things that will help."

COLD WATER COWBOYS - Casting a Net in the North Atlantic

One to watch on the Discovery Channel



A vocation passed from father to son, the fishermen of "The Rock" have spanned generations. But disaster struck in 1992 when the cod stock collapsed and a moratorium was declared, effectively shutting the fishery down overnight. Many left the life of the sea... but not the COLD WATER COWBOYS. This original Canadian 10-part series journeys to Newfoundland to meet these men with salt water in their veins, and follows them through one intense fishing season.

Following six captains and their crews, COLD WATER COWBOYS ventures hundreds of kilometres offshore in the North Atlantic, facing swells as high as houses and icebergs the size of small cities. A time-honoured industry in the midst of an unprecedented sea of change, these captains are stubborn men who stuck to and survived this calamity by retooling and rebuilding the industry on new catches: crab, shrimp, turbot, herring, and mackerel. It's a tough job - tough on the boats, tough on gear, tough on the human body - but these bred-in-the-bone fishermen will never trade their boats for boardrooms. Hometown pride and friendly competition rule the day, but when push comes to shove, they're all part of the same fiercely-protective fishermen's fraternity.

Still, there are countless challenges. The fishing season is a race against time...and other boats. There's only so much to catch, and little time to do it. Plagued by mechanical failures or damaged gear; icebergs and hurricanes; and the uncertainty of just where exactly the catch is hiding, every day is a high-stakes game in the life of an Atlantic fisherman. But the goal is always the same: fill the hatch and make money - as much and as fast as possible.

Fans can join the COLD WATER COWBOYS community on Twitter (@ColdWaterCowboy) to chat LIVEduring each week's 10 p.m. premiere with the CWCs and production team, using the hashtag#CWCowboys; and on Facebook (Facebook.com/ColdWaterCowboys).

French Fishing Film festival! - 25th to 30th March 2014 in Lorient, France

From 25th to 30th March 2014 , join the world's fishers for a trip into films around the world . On the menu of the sixth edition of our original festival, because only dedicated fishermen, engaged and demanding 38 films, all focused on fishermen. The Festival meets fishermen from more than 20 countries and offers 18 foreign achievements including films of high aesthetic and artistic selected and awarded in international film festivals as well as unpublished. 13 films are competing with eight feature films and 5 short films. place of meetings and discussions with directors, the fishing industry, scientists, the Festival invites you to discover new images on the world's fishers and debate on the issues of the sea and men who live.

Raymond Blanc, Food Investigator | The Curious Case of the Fish in the Canteen

Celebrity Chef and MSC investigator Raymond Blanc is asked by a student worried about overfishing if her University serves fish from sustainable sources. After taking a closer look, Raymond uncovers a clue which offers much relief to all involved!

Celebrity chef, Raymond Blanc OBE, has turned fish detective for a new series of short animations about the importance of sustainable fish and the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) label. The aim of these short films is to encourage all buyers and consumers to take seafood sustainability seriously. 

In the series, Mr Blanc turns into a cartoon super sleuth to investigate three 'fishy' cases – The Fish in the Canteen, Seafood Sabotage and The Fish out of Water. Raymond Blanc said: “Fish sustainability has always been integral to my businesses. Each aspect of what we do is driven by ethical, environmental, seasonal and regional values, whenever possible. As a chef and a consumer I work in partnership with the fishmonger and with food producers exchanging knowledge.” 

He pointed out that his restaurant Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons is still the only two Michelin starred restaurant in the UK to be MSC certified. Toby Middleton, MSC, added: “Raymond is joining an illustrious line of great detectives as he searches for the best in sustainable fish. There are already 22 MSC certified universities and nearly 4,000 schools. I’d like to see that extended to the whole country so that we can look after the future of our fish stocks while ensuring a bright future for our students.” 

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