The fleet is all at sea - a very quiet fish market this morning with most of the activity in Newlyn centred around restoring the sea front

With the spring tide almost done the netting fleet will be tang ice today and tomorrow, they are virtually the only boats in the post with most of the fleet at sea taking advantage of the fine weather...

one of the fastest fish in the sea is yet again proving somewhat elusive this month...

so fishermen are putting a mornings work in starting at 4am just to catch a few stone of mackerel...

the fish are a good size though with the bulk of them being large medium or 'large meeds' as they are known... 

with only a handful of small in the morning's landing...

there's more than a few hours work for the trawler men working on this hard ground gear - heavy rubber discs mean this trawl will be used to 'hop' over stony and hard ground - hence the name 'rockhopper' trawl...

one of the ports stern trawlers basking in the sunshine...

as the netter Ajax makes her way to the ice berth…

yet more pots have been retrieved by the crabbers after the winter storms...

while more evidence of the harsh winter weather can be seen on the coastal path between Newlyn Green and Wherry Town where the first stage in making good the path...

is almost complete...

while in front of Newlyn Green where the sea wall was breached so badly in the winter storms...

the scale of the repair work is huge as a fleet of earth moving kit has moved in…

and is now digging down well below sea level at high water...

the strength of the caisson can be seen here.

Newlyn Green sea wall repairs underway

The depth of the excavations for the sea wall footings can be seen in this clip - with sea water flooding the work even at half tide.

Newlyn Green - Cormac makes good!

There is some heavy duty construction equipment hard at work that has been starting from 5am in the morning.  The footings for the sea wall repairs at Newlyn Green are being dug well below the high water mark and filled with concrete. It will take a tsunami-like wave to create the damage witnessed earlier this year after these repairs are complete.

When it comes to this - "Launch the fishing vessel Ruthie B" - there's no EU funding for this skipper owner

Bill's video tells the full story - a man passionate about fish, fishing and the fishing community he serves.

Kickstarter is most often used to put money into something completely new like publicly sourced venture capital for a project or business start-up. In this instance the skipper of the Ruthie B, the last groundfish trawler of its kind fishing from Nantucket is doing so to stay in business!

Here's the full story:

Help to re-launch the F/V Ruthie B so Bill can develop the Community Supported Fishery and provide more fresh, local seafood to Nantucket.

"The F/V Ruthie B and I have been supplying fresh seafood to fish markets, restaurants, and individuals on Nantucket for over 35 years. Over the past three years, I have developed relationships with many restaurants, including Proprietors, Club Car, Chanticleer ,Ventuno, Pi Pizza, Galley Beach, to name a few. For years, I have sold to Glidden's Island Seafood, Sayles Seafood, Nantucket Seafoods, Souza' Seafoods, and Nantucket Fresh Catch. Our latest endeavor, Community Supported Fisheries (Ruthie B - CSF), has delighted many individuals with the freshest seafood imaginable and the adventure of trying new species. You can sign up for a CSF share and get "fresh, local fish right off the boat."

Commercial fishing is one of the most dangerous jobs in North America. Storms, breakdowns, injuries, fluctuating prices, strict regulations all make the job unpredictable and difficult. These same challenges, however, have helped me become resilient and learn how to keep going under duress. I am 69 and my boat is 35, but I would like to continue fishing as long as possible. My passion is to provide more and better fresh seafood to restaurants, fish markets, and CSF members on Nantucket. I hope to help educate the next generation with knowledge and love of the sea, and possibly help train a young person to take over for me."

Read the full story behind the project here: 

Inshore trawler Valhalla towed in by the trawler Defiant

Valhalla with her trawl net in her prop - known as being 'mopped up'

Trawlers face the dangers of getting their trawl in the propellor every time they haul and shoot. Sometimes a lack of wind and a tide running awkwardly contrive to push the trawl under the hull of the boat without the skipper realising. Infine weather this results in waiting for another boat to come and tow you in - in poor weather such a problem can be far more dangerous - just getting a tow line aboard another boat is hazardous as it involves two vessels in close proximity. Trawlers engaged in pair trawling are far better equipped to deal with this as they come together to swap trawl warps every time they haul and shoot!

Thanks to Ed for the photo.

In the summer time...

We need ice!, the inshore trawler Harvest Reaper makes her way to the Cornish Ice Company's ice works...

while Jeremy on the multi-purpose inshore netter/potter/handliners Nazarene...




and John on the Girl Pamela takes on boxes of frozen bait for a day's crabbing...

just some of the shining inshore fish for sale...

and, unusually for the inshore trawlers a few boxes of hake on the inshore grounds...

an excellent weekend's work on the best bass in the west...

signs of summer - Roger will be smiling all the w\y back out to catch more John Dory this week given the fine forecast...

not so abundant are the mackerel - a dozen fish is not much reward for a 4am start...

Chris Tacha, off to get bait.

AIS and Traffic Separation Schemes

All ships at sea have to comply with a set of international rules about how to conduct themselves - no ,matter what nationality, size or means of propulsion - the rules are the same the whole world over - the ominous sounding Collision Regulations or "Rules of the Road" - aka the Highway Code of the sea.

As a rule, ships are free to roam anywhere they please by whichever course they care to choose. However, there are areas where shipping traffic has to comply when traveling in certain directions, normally off heavily congested transit points like those of the Scillies and Land's End.

In the example above, the small coaster Arklow Wind is on passage from Dunkirk In France to Aughinish in Ireland. In order to safely navigate past Land's End she has to comply with following the North bound sector of the traffic separation scheme. All those ships making their way North from the English Channel or coming up from the coast of France have to follow a narrow shipping lane closest to Land;s End, South bound traffic must take the western shipping lane. The AIS also shows how the boats must join and leave the separation lanes at their extremity.

Any vessel needing to cross these invisible lanes must do so, or as near as they can to right angles. Fishing vessels are also expected to follow the same procedure.


Here are the rules in full:

Traffic separation schemes

(a) This Rule applies to traffic separation schemes adopted by the Organization and does not relieve any vessel of her obligation under any other Rule.

(b) A vessel using a traffic separation scheme shall:

(i) proceed in the appropriate traffic lane in the general direction of traffic flow for that lane;
(ii) so far as practicable keep clear of a traffic separation line or separation zone;
(iii) normally join or leave a traffic lane at the termination of the lane, but when joining or leaving from either side shall do so at as small an angle to the general direction of traffic flow as practicable.

(c) A vessel shall, so far as practicable, avoid crossing traffic lanes but if obliged to do so shall cross on a heading as nearly as practicable at right angles to the general direction of traffic flow.

(i) A vessel shall not use an inshore traffic zone when she can safely use the appropriate traffic lane within the adjacent traffic separation scheme. However, vessels of less than 20 metres in length, sailing vessels and vessels engaged in fishing may use the inshore traffic zone.
(ii) Notwithstanding sub-paragraph (d) (i), a vessel may use an inshore traffic zone when en route to or from a port, offshore installation or structure, pilot station or any other place situated within the inshore traffic zone, or to avoid immediate danger.

(e) A vessel other than a crossing vessel or a vessel joining or leaving a lane shall not normally enter a separation zone or cross a separation line except:

(i) in cases of emergency to avoid immediate danger;
(ii) to engage in fishing within a separation zone.