Marine Developments - the MMO gets blogging

The MMO has embraced the world of social media and now has its own Twitter and blog feeds for you to stay in touch with the latest developments - no excuses now to find hundreds of square miles of ocean suddenly a marine protected area - stay in touch and be in touch with you future at sea!

About Marine Developments:

News and updates about the work of the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) and its partners in enabling sustainable growth in seas around England. Marine industries are estimated to contribute around £49.4 billion a year to the UK economy.

You can also find the MMO on Twitter:

The MMO @The_MMO

Want to see how #marineplanning affects you? Take a look at our online tool http://bit.ly/1ihcYAB  for plan policies under your interests

A few fish on the market this morning but plenty of boats overlanding to other fish markets

 
 It takes two to tango...
 

 
 you wouldn't want to be slapped across the face my a ray would you...
 

 
 just the one squid this morning...
 

 
 Mr Fal Fish back in action on the market...
 

 
 early start for the Crystal Sea III...
 

 
 bound out through the gaps...
 

 
 leaving the transport waiting for the inbound beamers...
 

 
 and the Imogen III...
 

 
 high water this morning...
 

 
 looks like the ice works will get a lift tgis morning... 
 

 
 in come the lady...
 

 for the benefit of visiting Tesco wet fish counter staff on a tour of the port... 
 

 
 next Brixham beamer Barentzee...
 

 
 enters the gaps......
 

 
 and heads for a landing berth...
 

a new path takes shape...

 which looks as though the repairs to the path proper might be going to take some time!

Off Vigo - Baltic Breeze Car Carrier Runs Over Fishing Vessel, At Least 3 Dead

The AIS track of the car carrier Baltic Breeze and the possible point of collision highlighted with the fishing vessel Mar de Marin - courtesy of VesselTracker

Dives at the wreck impossible due to adverse weather:

Adverse weather made it impossible for the divers of Maritimo Salvamento and the Civil Guard to descend to the "Mar de Marin" which was located in a depth of 57 meters about 1.4 miles southeast of the island of Boeiro, south of the Cies. The Guardia Civil and two technicians from the University of Vigoon board the "Salvamar Mirach" searched the wrecksite with the help of sonar for the still missing sailors Manuel Domínguez Mallo, a resident of Marin, and Alexander Keita, a native of Ghana. A helicopter of the National Police, the "Pisca 1", the "Maria Pita" and the tug "Ria de Vigo" continued the search on the water and troops of the Civil Guard on the shore near Cape Home. Two of the three dead sailors were Galician and the third was of Moroccan nationality: Alejandro Garcia Castro, who was on the bridge at the time of the collision; Hassan Boudra, first mechanic, a Moroccan national, and Carlos Santos Villar, a greaser from Cangas. The survivors were the Skipper Francisco Javier Pazos Sanjorge; Gonzalo Santiago Torres, Juan Ramón Santiago Torres, Gumersindo Marques Aria and a biologist of the Spanish Institute of Oceanography who had embarked as an observer. (20 min ago, by Timsen )

The #fishmishbash - Mullion Cove Hotel does its bit for the hard-hit fishermen of Cornwall

Newlyn's fishermen were hard hit over the winter. The #fishmishbash aims to raise money for them. The interview with Fiona promises to be fun and informative. Come along and find out more on Monday at 7pm 

On Friday 4th April Mullion Cove Hotel and Head Chef Fiona Were are hosting the first #fishmishbash to raise much needed funds for the Fishermen’s Mission.

Gina Moore SW Fundraising Manager for the Fishermen’s Mission says “Fishermen around the coast of the UK are struggling to make ends meet. The severe weather has meant that many fishermen haven’t been able to fish since December added to which, much of their valuable and essential fishing gear has been lost or badly damaged in the storms.

The evening will feature a signature five course sushi inspired dinner, sea shanty singers, fundraising raffles and an auction with an amazing array of prizes which have been generously donated by many local businesses. If you would like to donate any prices or items for auction, they would be gratefully received. All proceeds will go to the Fishermen’s Mission. Tickets cost £45 per person including drinks at the table. £25 per ticket sale will be donated direct to the charity.

Reservations are being taken now. To reserve your place and support this event please call the hotel reception 01326 240328

Discards ban – next steps for English fishermen #eatmorefish

New plans have been set out today to help English fishermen adapt to the discards ban and put an end to the wasteful practice of throwing perfectly good fish back into the sea.

The proposals have been set out by the Fisheries Minister, George Eustice in one of three consultations on the implementation of the EU’s reformed Common Fisheries Policy.

Defra has proposed how the new system of managing quota can be used to help fishermen adapt to the discards ban, and benefit from the extra catch they land.

Fisheries Minister, George Eustice said;

The discard ban is one of the most important changes to fisheries management in the last decade.

We fought hard to put an end to the wasteful practice of throwing fish overboard. Now we must focus on implementing the discards ban in a way that will work well for English fishermen and help them to profit from the extra catch that they land.

A second consultation has been launched on the European Maritime Fisheries Fund, which is used to fund projects aimed at helping fishermen to fish more sustainably, aid adaptation to new fisheries regulations and contribute to economic growth. The third consultation will look for views on the best way to introduce mandatory labelling of fish with information about its species, origins, and the processing or handling the product has undergone from the moment it was landed to the point at which it reaches our plates.

The discard ban will apply to ‘pelagic’ fish such as mackerel and herring from 2015, and be rolled out to other species in 2016. 

The three consultations covering the discards ban, the European Maritime Fisheries Fund and marketing standards and labeling requirements for fishery and aquaculture products.

All three consultations close on 12 May.

The consultations are derived from Reforming and managing marine fisheries for a prosperous fishing industry and a healthy marine environment headed up by fisheries minister, George Eustice.

Life aboard The Supreme

Leo McGirr is a prawn fisherman in Ardglass, County Down. Government and EU regulations, rising fuel costs and the low market price of his catch are threatening his livelihood.

Hake dilemma in the North Sea

Another example of how the discards ban spells real trouble for a mixed fishery! - further explained in this paper on 'choke' species which is what hake will fast become.

DEEP-sea trawlermen have voiced concern that the increasing numbers of North Sea hake could threaten their livelihoods.

The danger, they say, is that the population explosion of the fish will monopolise catches and thus preclude the fishing of other important and lucrative species.

The problem lies in EU rules, which disallow trawlermen to discard fish for which they do not have a quota. Not only is the hake quota limited but because hake are now so abundant, trawlers cannot help but get them along with other species.

According to research carried out by the school of biological sciences at Aberdeen University, the issue will be heightened in the summer, when the North Sea has 34 per cent of the European hake stock but only 7 per cent of the total allowable catch (TAC).

In a paper published in Fish and Fisheries, Alan Baudron from Aberdeen University warns that ‘if the increased levels of northern hake biomass...persist, European hake is likely to be the choke species which affects a premature closure of the entire demersal mixed-fishery in the North Sea.’

The concern has been echoed by Bertie Armstrong, chief executive of the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation (SFF), who also fears that the discards ban may well signal the end of the Scottish fleet as we know it.

Revisions to the Common Fisheries Policy will mean that fishermen will have to land all fish caught, an attempt to prevent the present extensive discarding of fish: estimated at around 500,000 tonnes a year.

Story courtesy of FishUpdate