#FishyFriday in Newlyn

Demonstrating its position as the provider of more variety of fish than any other UK port...

lovely langostine...

controversial conger...(see the stamps debacle)...

hooray for the ray...

best banging bass...

even lobster...

always popular with the media...

not forgetting the 'ansum 'ake...

even more rays of sunshine...

delicious Dory...

pristine blondes...

magnifique megrims...

caught by these guys...

not forgetting the even more controversial cod of course...

getting the measuring treatment...

last but not least the mini-monk tails...

and at last the Council have set the diggers at work to restore Newlyn Green!

#FishyFriday Fishy facts indeed - to use a well worn cliche #eatmorefish

"Andrew Hammond, a Royal Mail spokesperson, added: “With the majority of the world’s fish stocks currently fully-exploited or over-exploited this is a key issue of concern. We hope this stamp issue goes some way to helping people make informed choices about sustainability and contribute to the discussion about the conservation of UK fish stocks.”

 Alongside the new stamps, Royal Mail will be releasing the findings from research to understand the attitudes and gauge the knowledge of sustainable fishing amongst the British public."

Quite how the Royal Mail thinks a set of stamps will inform - as in 'educate' - a largely ignorant public (of the true nature of fish stocks and fish stocks assessment) must be beyond the ken of most fishermen in the UK. In the minds of most people, stamps are primarily used to indicate that the correct revenue has been paid in order for the Royal Mail to deliver items for postage - not to reliably indicate whether or not that fish supper they were just about to purchase is from sustainable stocks or not - and since when did anyone in the UK shop for sturgeon or wolffish? Neither Tesco, Morrisons, Lidl, Sainsburys, Asda, M&S or the good old Co-operative offer either of these fish on their fish counters within easy reach of Newlyn - the port that lands the widest variety of fish in the UK on a regular basis bar none!

Barrie Deas, @NFFO_UK chief exec of the National Fishermen's Federation was incensed by the stamp issue - and rightly so as the organisation was not even contacted by the Royal mail or the group tasked with coming up with selecting and designing the stamps - good to see the 'Royal' warrant applied so vigorously in support of our British fishing industry - sadly, even more ironic given their role on this historic day 60 years on from D-Day.

The newly privatised company said the stamps were issued to celebrate, “the beauty of marine fish as well as providing guidance and encouragement to consumers on how to conserve UK fisheries”

The dreary dab

Let's hope the stamps achieve great value as collectors items rather than finding their way into the public conscience as educational tools - though quite how the dab ever met the designer's brief for a displaying the 'beauty' of fish will only leave fishermen doubly perplexed - for dab read drab - probably the drabbest fish in the sea!

Royal Mail fish stamp set issue - but who is more threatened - the fish or the fishermen?

Three of the fishy stamps that went on sale yesterday to the public are worthy of further discussion on how helpful or unhelpful the stamps are in informing the public as to the state of fish stocks in UK waters - if that was the intention?

Skate along with spurdogs were taken off the catch register a while back - "The Commission has proposed setting total allowable catch (TAC) for spiny dogfish (or "spurdog") and porbeagle sharks at zero and prohibiting fishermen from keeping angel sharks, common skates, undulate rays or white skates."

In the mixed fisheries of the waters off Cornwall these fish and others currently banned will soon gain prominence when the 'nil discards' rules are introduced and boats are forced to keep them on board and land them.

Several Newlyn boats including the Govenek of Ladram have been involved in stock assessment for skate - the results are a long time in making their way to the quota discussion table however...

Conger eel are a case in point - landings in the UK are almost non-existent with good reason - the price fetched by these fish in the UK is very low despite its great eating qualities - and for that reason boats do not fish specifically for conger eel - they are caught and landed on the market in Newlyn mainly by beam trawlers fishing near to wrecks and patches of hard ground - the preferred habitat of these boisterous fish - there are now no boats that specifically fish for conger at any time during the year as there once were - hard to see how eating onger caught off Cornwall is in any way a threat!

#RNLI lifeboat Ivan Ellen tows in the Emma Louise after she loses her steering

Penlee lifeboat Ivan Ellen was called out at 5.15 am this morning after the Emma Louise lost her steering...

necessitating assistance from the AWB...

here the crew shorten up the long tow rope...

so the lifeboat has more control...

and greater manoeuvrability when coming in through the gaps...

not easy even in these calm conditions, here the crew prepare with big fenders over the bow as a precaution...

before passing close to the end of the quay...

which then gives the lifeboat crew the time to put short ends aboard and guide the crabber to a quayside berth...

the AIS from VesselTracker shows just how quickly the lifeboat was able to locate and escort the crabber safely back to port - nice work Patch and the boys!

#FishyFriday - Ajax hake gets the Fish on Friday treatment

"Many people think of hake as a Spanish speciality, but it’s now so plentiful in our waters that it was recently dubbed Britain’s most sustainable fish. So we take our tour west to Newlyn to meet Ajax skipper Alan Dwan, a master at catching it, and serve up some delicious ideas for cooking it by Mitch Tonks, hake ambassador at large."

FishonFriday.org trains its fishy eye on the biggest fish story in the south west this year - the rise of the mighty meaty hake! Local skippers like Alan Dwan on the Ajax, Phil Mitchell on the Govenek of Ladram and Simon Porter on the Sparkling Line have all been instrumental in working with the likes of Cefas to ratify the sustainability of Cornish hake - chefs like Nathan Outlaw and Mitch Tonks have added their support wading in with a range of tasty dishes to experiment with.

Read the full story and check out a range of hake recipes here:

"I'm concerned about the fishing industry. I'm 21 and now my future is uncertain ........"

Drift Net Ban

Responsible department: Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

"I'm concerned about the fishing industry. I'm 21 and now my future is uncertain because of the drift net ban which is coming into force in 2015. 

I have been a drift net fishermen since the age of 16 and drift net fish is one of the lowest impact type of fishing, even the conservationists don't agree with the ban. Because of some, it is unfair that the drift net ban should affect this country because of some dolphins and turtles that are being caught in the Mediterranean sea. Here, we do not get any unwanted by-catches like that.  It is a well known fact that drift netting is very low impact. 

So yes, I'm calling on the Prime Minister and the British people to take a stand and do something about this or all the small drift net fishermen in the UK will be put out of business.  This must be one of the reasons why people voted UKIP because of Brussels controlling our country."

Please take time to sign the petition here:

https://submissions.epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/65913

Read about the proposed ban here:

http://www.euractiv.com/sections/sustainable-dev/commission-proposes-full-driftnet-fishing-ban-302167

Read the recent media coverage - all in agreement with Anthony.

http://www.nffo.org.uk/news/drift_net_blanket.html

From the Sunday Times comes Steve Perham

#banthedriftnetban

Fishy Royal Mail stamps go on sale

How what must have seemed like a good idea a year or so back when these stamps were commissioned is likely to incense many fishermen up and down the coastline of the UK - the Royal Mail will not win many fishermen fans for this set of stamps!


Here are some interesting statistics and comments posted along with the release these new fishy stamp sets from the Royal Mail. The choice of Wolf fish is odd given that 99% of fishermen have never even seen one in the flesh - included in the 'threatened' category no doubt to highlight the plight of deep-water species to which it belongs and even more bizarre is to include a fish landed once in a blue moon - the sturgeon - known much more for its eggs in the form of caviar rather than any fillet or cutlet dish likely to grace the plate of a diner in this country! It's also a shame that fish like mackerel and hake were not included - especially as they are both visually way more appealing than the dreary dab or common conger!

The Royal Mail has announced its first ever stamp set to champion an environmental issue with the launch of a series focused on sustainable fishing in British waters.

The 10-stamp set, launched to mark World Environment Day, highlights the beauty of marine fish as well as providing guidance and encouragement to consumers on how to conserve UK fisheries.
Many familiar fish are severely threatened due to a variety of factors including overfishing – the new stamp issue raises awareness of the threat and also provides a sustainable alternative.

Five of the species illustrated are fish that are threatened in UK waters: Common Skate, Spiny Dogfish (sometimes called Rock Salmon), Wolffish, Sturgeon and Conger Eel, 

while five are species from sustainable populations which provide viable alternatives for fisheries and consumers: Herring, Red Gurnard, Dab, Pouting and Cornish Sardine

Five of the species illustrated are fish that are threatened in UK waters: Common Skate, Spiny Dogfish (sometimes called Rock Salmon), Wolffish, Sturgeon and Conger Eel, 
The plight of fisheries has caused increasing public concern in recent years, with some organisations offering advice to consumers on which seafood to purchase and supermarket chains actively informing their customers about making informed choices. There have also been a number of TV programmes highlighting the issue.

Callum Roberts, Professor of Marine Conservation, University of York, who acted as consultant for Royal Mail on the stamp issue said: "Marine protected areas that are off limits to fishing could recover endangered species like those on the stamps, as well as providing a boost to the fishing industry through recovered stocks.

“Only one thousandth of 1% of UK seas are fully protected from fishing at present. To bring back endangered fish species, we need a huge increase in the coverage of such protected areas."

Andrew Hammond, Royal Mail spokesperson, added; “With the majority of the world’s fish stocks currently fully-exploited or over-exploited this is a key issue of concern. We hope this stamp issue goes some way to helping people make informed choices about sustainability and contribute to the discussion about the conservation of UK fish stocks.”

Alongside the new stamps, Royal Mail released the findings commissioned research to understand the attitudes to and gauge the knowledge of sustainable fishing amongst the British public.

The research found that while the term ‘sustainable fishing’ is widespread, there is generally a lack of knowledge about it. While 99% of people surveyed had heard of the term ‘sustainable fishing’, 53% had heard of the phrase but knew nothing or did not know very much. 46% of people asked described themselves as knowing a fair amount or a great deal about the issue.

The research also revealed a disappointing level of engagement amongst younger people and environmental issues, with more than a third of 16-24 year olds (37%) not aware that some fish are threatened in UK seas, much higher than the 16% of 55-65 year olds.

Older people tend to be more concerned about the impact of fishing on the environment with 59% of those aged 55-65 concerned or very concerned against a figure of 44% of people aged between 16-24.

In total, 49% of people polled said they were not concerned at all or a little concerned at the environmental impact of fishing, while 51% of described themselves as being concerned or very concerned.

Fresh fish is part of the diet for 88% of Britons. However, based on consumption of fresh fish, only 7% of men and women eat as much fish as the Food Standards Agency recommends, i.e. two portions per week. Fresh fish is eaten two to three times a month only a quarter of people 26%

31% of those asked said their knowledge of sustainability issues caused them to change the species of fish they buy/order while 14% said it led them to reduce the quantity of fish they bought/ordered.

66% of those asked said they would buy/order more fish if they were assured that the fish was fished or farmed in a sustainable way. However, 84% reported that there was no information available about the level of sustainability of the species when buying or ordering fish.

As well as the fish featured in the stamp issue, some well-known fish species were included in the list when asking respondents if they were aware of the sustainability status of the species in British waters; these were Cod, Haddock, Plaice, Sea Bass, Angel Shark, Mackerel. On average, 82% of people said that they didn’t know the status or had never heard of the six threatened species (Common Skate, Spiny Dogfish, Wolffish, Sturgeon, Conger Eel, and Angel Shark). The figure was 81% for the five species on the stamps.

There is also low knowledge even of supposedly well-known species. On average, 54% of people said that they didn’t know the status or had never heard of the six well known species (Cod, Haddock, Plaice, Herring, Sea Bass and Mackerel). Knowledge of sustainable alternative species (Cornish Sardine; Herring; Red Gurnard; Dab and Pouting) was as low as for the threatened species, with 81% saying they didn’t know the status or had never heard of the fish.

However, the message about UK cod stocks seems to have got through. 82% of those who said they knew its status were correct.