Monday morning's major landings in Newlyn - hake, monk, megrim, and tons of turbot.

Shine on you railings...

as the early morning light floods the fish market in Newlyn...

where this mornings market is bursting with the wide range of fish species that only Newlyn can boast...

like these top turbot from the netter Silver Dawn...

all keep the buyers keen and busy...

as head auctioneer Ian rattles off the bids...

on fish like these hake...

more turbot...

ray...

and a full market of beam trawl fish from both Newlyn and Brixham boats like the Kerrie Marie which was towed in by the Penlee lifeboat yesterday in the early hours...

with a good haul of John Dory...

and a big trip of Cornish megrim soles...

to keep the buyers busy...

along with a few 'git louster' ling...

and langoustine from the Trevessa IV working north of the Scillys...

she also managed to steal a few of Roger's JDs...

with hardly a breath of wind in the Bay...

the netter Ajax barely leaves a ripple as she makes her way...

to a berth near the fish market...

as there isn't enough water to come alongside...

the film crew will have to wait a little longer before they can disembark...

until a bow line is put aboard another boat...

skipper Alan keeps a close eye on the stern...

and Tom makes ready a fender...

next in @Through the Gaps is the Louisa N passing the big Scottish prawn trawler Maracestina...

who has put ashore both trawls for mending...

Sunday's tow job for the lifeboat at rest...

along with another Brixham beam trawler Lady Lou...

it's that time of year when the Cornish Sardine season gets underway so the nets are being readied for action...

aboard the Ajax there is always time for a cuppa...

as top hake picker-out Matt enjoys a joke with skipper Alan...

and one of the film crew working on the forthcoming ITV series that will focus on the lives of those whose livelihoods depend on what goes in and out @ThroughTheGaps..

evidence that the Spanish are still fishing with longlines in the Western Approaches...

away eastwards some heavy showers are dousing Marazion and the Mount...

the phantom stone balancer has been in action on Newlyn's beach again.

Penlee's Ivan Ellen out on an early Sunday morning shout and tow job!

You can support the Penlee lifeboat in building a better community!

Brixham beam trawler Kerrie Marie comes tight on the tow line form the Ivan Ellen...

as she made a dash some twenty miles south of Newlyn at just gone 6am this morning....

and dropped off the causality at the end of the New Quay.

Spiders on the move

Not quite low water and the deep-drafted crabber Emma Louise is aground...

filing for a Channel 4 documentary about new recruits to the fishing industry aboard the Govenek of Ladram has come to an end which means hundreds of feet of cable...

dozens of boxes...

flight cases...

and waterproof Pelican cases enough to fill two vans...

inshore and offhshore - the Penlee dream team...

two punts one fisherman, name that face...

studying Barry as he expertly...

removes the spiders from the nets, a painstaking process and easier done in the harbour...

when the spiders that survive can go in a store-bag...

the netter Trevose looks good in the morning light...

while there is only one of the Scottish prawn boats in at the moment between trips...

retired fisherman Brian has trouble with one of the cormorants come to investigate his bass rig while fishing off the pontoons...

as yet another of the fleet head out @throughthegaps...

big boats need big gear...

just a few words from Mission superintendent keith Dixon on the closure of the Mission building as we know it.

#RNLI douse the flames of the Firemen of Penzance in their annual charity match at Mennaye Fields.

Whenever the fishermen meet the firemen it's sure to be a close and hard fought battle...

but this year the fishermen with their eyes fixed firmly on the clubhouse bar determined not to have to buy the first round and swamped the firemen 32-22! Skipper and lifeboat cox Patch Harvey happy to hold the trophy aloft again.

The RNMDSF charity which has supported fishermen for more than 100 years has sold its base in Cornwall.

The Fishermen's Mission in Newlyn has been sold to a local businessman

The Royal National Mission to Deep Sea Fishermen's Mission building opened in Newlyn in 1903, but the charity said the building was no longer cost-effective to run.  It sold the centre to a local businessman, and said it hoped to use the proceeds to benefit the area.

The memorial room will continue to have a home in the building.

The mission provides practical and spiritual support for fishermen and their families.

Top chefs like Tom Aikens have all enjoyed a mug of decent tea.

Julian Waring, from the charity, said that in the 1960s and 1970s there was a demand to house fishermen, feed them fresh meals and provide clothing in emergencies.

Many a game of snooker was played by fishermen.

He said: "Those demands have changed. We're still here in Newlyn and a memorial room will remain, but there's no need for accommodation or a canteen. If accommodation is needed we'll house them in a B&B.

When the canteen was full the Mission's final skipper often managed the tea pump!

"To manage a building comes at a huge cost and if it's not used to its full potential it needs to be reassessed."

The mission was initially based in Penzance and moved to Newlyn in 1903

Mr Waring said 88p of every £1 donated to the charity was spent helping fishermen and the move would allow the charity to "better serve the county as a whole" rather than just Newlyn.

These days the Mission staff are better able to provide outreach support by car.

In 2014 the mission provided emergency grants of £500 to fishermen in Cornwall who were unable to work due to prolonged winter storms.

The hard-core euchre players will have to find a new home

The mission has had a presence in Cornwall since 1896. It was initially based in Penzance and moved to Newlyn in 1903.

So who caught my fish? - I can tell you says Mrs Rowse!

Here's a story from Australia about the fishermen of New England in the USA - it seems a group of fishermen and scientists have worked together to produce a fish tracing system using QR codes - the idea being that the customer can use their smartphone or tablet to scan in the QR code that will identify which fisherman aboard which boat caught the fish..... 

"AFTER eyeing a piece of haddock on the supermarket counter, a customer scans a code and finds out the fish was caught in the waters of Georges Bank and learns the name of the fishing boat - and maybe even sees a picture of the smiling, rain-slickened fisherman who reeled it in. WELCOME to the future of buying New England seafood.

A group of scientists and fishermen said the technology isn't about a gimmick so much as survival. They're working on a new tool they say will allow consumers to learn the backstory of a piece of fish while standing in the supermarket aisle with their smartphone. 

In an era when many sectors of the New England fishing industry are struggling with depleted resources and choking catch quotas, increasing the cachet of local seafood could be the last, best hope, said Ben Martens, executive director of the Maine Coast Fishermen's Association, one of the groups involved in the "Boat to Plate" project. "Most fishermen don't want to be involved in this kind of stuff. They want to go out into the water," said Martens, whose group represents 35 mostly small-boat fishermen. "We just don't think that's the way of the future."

See the full story here: 

In a world where customers are increasingly concerned over the providence of the foodstuffs this would seem like a great idea?

Well guess what? - here in 'sleepy' Cornwall the Rowse family and their fleet of crabbers have been using the same system to do exactly the sane job with their skippers and boats!

Each boat has it's own unique code - like the Harriet Eve here:

The Rowse fleet are based in Newlyn and their brown crab and lobsters are landed almost every day by the four boats...

with the Emma Louise being the largest boat in the fleet and a sister ship due later in the summer...

each consignment of brown crab is recorded on landing with where and when the fish were caught and can be traced right back to the skipper and boat it was caught by.