Living it up at night - what do langoustine get up to?

Perhaps some prawn fishermen - are you about @buchanjimmy ? - might want to comment on the observations on langoustine activity made below - latest post from the Cefas Endeavour as she ends her latest JNCC research trip in the North Sea.

Farewell Fladen

The last phase of the survey up at the Fladen Grounds has been focussed on collecting evidence for Scottish Government to better understand feature condition across a surface abrasion pressure gradient, particularly looking at seapen and burrowing megafaunal communities.  One element of this burrowing megafaunal community is the Norway Lobster (Nephrops norvegicus) or langoustine as you may be more familiar with. Nephrops are typically nocturnal, so the night shift have had more luck spotting them then the day shift, as they emerge from the burrows to hunt and scavenge. They feed on other crustaceans, worms or even fish. Their main predator is the cod (Gadus morhua).

 A Nephrops caught in the 'headlights' of the camera sledge (JNCC/Cefas)

A Nephrops emerging from its burrow (JNCC/Cefas)

Extract from the JNCC Offshore Survey blog.

Could be the opening day of the Trevose Box!

A fleet of fishing boats is gathered of the north coast of Cornwall - looks like the Trevose Box is open this year...

as a host of beam trawlers get their chance hopeing to fill up with Dover Sole!

More climate change evidence? - first landing this year of unusual sardine

Landed during the early hours of this morning at the fish market in Newlyn...

just over three tonnes of a rare sardine normally found in the Mediterranean...

It's thought the fish swim using their lateral line to navigate

known as Sardina Caecus or Blind Sardine - skipper Dan thinks this is the first time they have been caught in any quantity in Cornish waters. He said, "catching the fish was made difficult as they were swimming so slow I nearly overshot the mark and missed them!".

"Fishermen in Brittany", the largest organization of fishermen in Europe requires its members to suspend their hake fishing

"Les Pêcheurs de Bretagne", the largest organization of fishermen in Europe requires its members to suspend their hake, until April 6. This decision was taken to regulate a market in trouble, a victim of the weather.

"Fishermen in Brittany" with 800 ships, 3000 sailors has asked its members to suspend their fishing hake. In a statement, the organization explains the reasons for this drastic decision, scheduled for two weeks, until April 6.

A victim of weather:  "For several weeks, fishermen continue to face the onslaught of weather and market After private fishing during successive storms (late 2013 - early 2014) fishermen can again returning to sea and provide a quality fish are now subject to the law of contract: purchase prices are at their lowest. " Fishermen Britain also recalls that since January 1, it no longer receives public funding (fish in France enjoyed a withdrawal price arrangement) to support its members in case they do not sell all their production to different auctions. Since March 20th, all hake fishery practiced in midwater trawl (net which does not touch the seabed) is suspended in order to regulate the market and expect a return to normal . This restriction does not only apply to this species: pollock is also affected by limitations for an indefinite period. This measure relates to a total of thirty, in Lorient and Guilvinec. "We currently have a crisis in demand, " regretted Yves Foëzon, deputy director of the organization, told AFP. It calls for the establishment of a "true interprofessional" so that "all industry players work together" to face such market pressures.

By Emilie Colin Published 03/25/2014

New waterborne police unit will patrol Newlyn and Penzance harbours

Police in west Cornwall are taking to the water to tackle boat crime and other illegal activity around our coast.

The West Cornwall Marine Crime Unit is now on patrol after receiving specialist training from an organisation that supports Cornwall’s marine sector.  Operating from Falmouth and covering the south coast, the unit will provide a presence in harbours like Newlyn and Penzance where criminals can operate.

The unit aims to prevent thefts of boats and engines, antisocial behaviour and other illegal activity on the water – like the recent spate of lobster thefts from Newlyn fishermen.

The team are existing west Cornwall officers and Cornwall Marine Network trained 35 of them in VHF radio use, sea survival and powerboat handling.

PC Barry Nicholas, one of the members of the unit, said: “We had a number of high-profile marine thefts a year ago and in one case up to £30,000-worth of outboard motors were stolen in a weekend, so we identified a need for a greater police presence out on the water.”

The unit will provide a year-round visible deterrent, and as well as thieves will target illegal fishing, thefts, drug-trafficking or boat users who are speeding or under the influence of alcohol.

Paul Wickes, chief executive of the Cornwall Marine Network, said: “We were delighted to work in partnership with the police to support this very positive initiative.

“It’ll provide added security to Cornwall’s maritime businesses and those who enjoy time out on the water.  “We used our experience as a training provider for the marine sector to draw up a training plan and source the funding, which allowed the unit to be created.”

Read more: http://www.cornishman.co.uk/New-waterborne-police-unit-patrol-Newlyn-Penzance/story-20881827-detail/story.html#ixzz2xYIsJ7iN

Australia wins whaling case against Japan in The Hague

UN ruling ...AUSTRALIA has won an international lawsuit against Japan’s Southern Ocean whaling program and the International Court of Justice has ordered Tokyo to cease the killing immediately.

Presiding Judge Peter Tomka of Slovakia said Japan had not justified the large number of minke whales it takes under its program, while failing to meet much smaller targets for fin and humpback whales. Japan has said it will abide by the decision, but it does not necessarily mean a permananet end to whaling.

The United Nation’s court ordered a halt to the issuing of whaling permits until the program has been revamped. The ICJ, by 12 votes to four, said Japan had not acted in compliance with its obligations under the international whaling convention.

Four years ago former environment minister Peter Garrett helped launch legal action against Japan in the International Court of Justice to try and put a stop to its controversial Antarctic whaling program. It was the first time any country had used an international court to try to stop whaling. Mr Garrett said he felt vindicated by the decision Labor made in 2010 to pursue the case against so-called “scientific whaling’’ in The Hague.

“I’m absolutely over the moon, for all those people who wanted to see the charade of scientific whaling cease once and for all,’’ the former Midnight Oil singer told ABC Radio this evening. He wasn’t the only one celebrating the outcome, with many taking to Twitter to share the news and pay tribute to the anti-whaling activist group Sea Shepherd.

Sea Shepherd Australia chairman and former Australian Greens leader Bob Brown congratulated the captain of the fleet that made its name in daring clashes with Japanese whalers in Antarctica.

“A whale of a win! Paul Watson is a global hero and Australians can all feel proud. Sea Shepherd Australia chairman,’’ Mr Brown posted.

Current Greens leader Christine Milne also paid tribute to the “champions” at Sea Shepherd, calling the ICJ verdict “justice at last”.

Australia had asked the court to ban Japan’s annual hunt on the basis it was not “for purposes of scientific research’’ as allowed under Article 8 of the 1946 International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling.

Canberra argued Tokyo was cloaking a commercial whaling operation “in the labcoat of science’’ despite agreeing to a 1980s ban on harpooning. Japan, however, countered during a three-week hearing in mid-2013 that the ICJ didn’t have the authority to decide what was, or wasn’t, science. It insisted lethal research was both lawful and necessary.

But in UN court last dismissed Tokyo’s argument. The court didn’t accept Australia’s argument that “scientific research’’ needed to have defined and achievable objectives, use appropriate methods, be properly peer reviewed, and avoid adverse events on the stocks being studied. Instead it focused on whether Tokyo’s program was “for purposes of’’ scientific research, however that was defined. Judge Tomka said the key was whether “the elements of the program’s design and implementation are reasonable in relation to its stated scientific objectives’’.

Killing whales could be science and wasn’t “unreasonable per se’’, Judge Tomka said. Furthermore, the fact whale meat was sold afterwards to fund future hunts did not, on its own, mean the program was illegal. But the court found there could be a greater reliance on non-lethal methods.

The court president said Tokyo should have analysed the feasibility of non-lethal methods when setting the quota size for taking whales. “There is no evidence that Japan has examined whether it would be feasible to combine a smaller lethal take, in particular of minke whales, and an increase in non-lethal sampling as a means to achieve ... research objectives,’’ he said. Tokyo was criticised for doubling its target to 850 minke whales each year after 2005 without first assessing the research effectiveness of its earlier program, which had a much smaller sample size. Japan hunts around a thousand mostly minke whales annually in the icy waters of the Southern Ocean.

Australia and environmental groups say the hunt serves no scientific purpose and is just a way for Japan to get around the moratorium on commercial whaling imposed by the International Whaling Commission in 1986. Although the popularity of whale meat is declining in Japan, it is considered a delicacy by some, and meat from the hunt is sold commercially.

Japan has said it will abide by the ruling of the court, known as the World Court, which is the United Nations’ court for disputes between countries. At the start of last night’s judgment hearing, Judge Tomka said that “research objectives alone must be sufficient to justify the program’’. Australia wins whaling case against Japan in The Hague

 STAFF REPORTERS AND WIRES NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA MARCH 31, 2014 7:10PM

Cornish fisheries MP visits the Seafood Village in Grimsby.

Fisheries Minister George Eustice visited the Seafood Village and talked to business owners about how to boost their businesses and encourage more people to eat seafood