Saturday in Newlyn in the sun.

Pleasant enough this morning in Mount's Bay...

as the sun hits the pebbles and granite blocks on the beach...

cleaning down the boat always attracts a few hungry visitors.

New SAR from Bristow operational this time next year- Culdrose SAR to end.

"Bristow Helicopters’ advanced SAR fleet is equipped with a raft of state of the art technology including night vision, mission management and increased on-board medical capabilities. 

In selecting our helicopters we have chosen aircraft that are specifically suited to the terrain and requirements of the UK Search and Rescue area." 

The Sikorsky S-92 and... 

AgustaWestland AW189 can fly faster and further and will be able to launch within 15 minutes between the hours of 08:00 and 22:00 and 45 minutes between 22:00 and 08:00.

here is the new coverage map for all 15 stations around the UK...

with a brand new operations base at Newquay - which will herald the end of the line for SAR provision from RNAS Culdrose since its inception in 1947 but officially since 1974 - Culdrose is the largest helicopter station in Europe.

Second print run for Salt of the Earth as sales soar to over £21,000.

Salt of the Earth from  Dead Interesting Productions on Vimeo.

With a second print run needed for the book, Salt of the Earth - here's a candid look at the behind-the-scenes action in how the photographs for the 200 plus black and white images of the fishermen and their families, co-workers and friends in the book were created by master portrait photographer David Penprase and his wife Jan.

All proceeds form the book go to the Royal National mission for Deep Sea Fishermen which operates nationally in the UK with branches in all the major ports- copies can be bought im many shops in Newlyn, Mousehole and Porthleven or ordered online here.

#EatMoreFish on #FishyFriday

How is your #FishyFriday

Clean sweep of the departures board as auction ace Ian adds the latest departures and arrivals information...

with fish in short supply again some merchants have become very protective over their purchases...

with bass making top dollar this morning...

the fish need to be sent away as quick as possible...

the fleet will be looking to get away today...

so the boxes are ready to go aboard...

and the decks are clear...

away in the distance Go Fot It makes her way to the gaps...

while the HGV trucks which make up the superb network of transport link with Newlyn swing into action.

There's weather everywhere!

This was the wind speed at the Sevenstones Lightship off Land's End last night...

and here at the other end of the country some 800 miles away is the view from the office window of the Reliance II some 8 miles north of Peterhead on her way back out to the fishing grounds - much the same story either  end of the country it seems - #EatMoreFish we say!

Call to prayer

Heads bowed in earnest contemplation as high prices.....

  on a market floor almost devoid of fish...

concentrate the minds of the buyers this morning...

over a few boxes of mackerel...

bass...

and hake from the Ajax...

are swiftly sold and rushed from the market floor...

while the netter Silver Dawn is lit up...

 by the searchlights of the Berlewen laying astern of her...

the harbour remains full of boats...

waiting for the poor weather to pass.

Does the size of a boat matter?

From The Journal:

THE SECOND LARGEST trawler in the world, previously banned from Australian waters, is back off the coast of Ireland – and it has some in the industry concerned.

The 143 metre long Margiris is currently sailing along the north coast of Mayo, having entered the Irish European Economic Zone on 7 January. It can process as much as 250 tonnes of fish per day. The ship has sailed under a range of names, including the Abel Tasman and Annelies Ilena, and various nationalities. The vessel is currently being kept under the watchful eye of the Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority, assisted by the Naval Service and Air Corps.

“A basic principle of the EU Common Fisheries Policy is shared access for all EU vessels to all EU waters,” a spokesperson for the authority explained.

Source: VesselTracker

“As a European registered fishing vessel, the Lithuanian registered vessel the Margiris is permitted to operate in any European waters and can fish in any area and retain on board any fish  for which it has a nationally assigned European quota.

It was the target of an Australian ban on so-called supertrawlers in 2012. The ban was extended just before Christmas to smaller ships, The Australian reports. Local fishing groups have previously expressed grave concern over ships like Margiris, which has far created capacity than many smaller boats combined, when it arrived off the west coast in March last year, soon after the ship was reportedly again refused entry to Australia.

Quotas

Francis O’Donnell from the Irish Fish Producers’ Organisation said last night there are issues surrounding the quotas assigned to these vessels.

“The enforcement agencies know that they have quota to be there, or at least they think they do, but they actually don’t know what the quota available to these ships is,” he told TheJournal.ie.

“From an enforcement perspective, it’s a real problem. It’s totally unacceptable.”

O’Donnell stressed that there is no evidence to suggest the ship has been behaving illegally. He said is believed it may be fishing for horse mackerel.

Full story courtesy of the Journal.