Happy Halloween from the scariest port in the UK!

Hard to imagine that the Bay before the sun came up was pink then red this morning...

either way Tom can see clearly to the horizon...

and in this light the harbour and its contents just glow...

under the arming sky...

making Newlyn one of those special places...

first thing...

in the morning...

for those up early enough...

to catch the rays of sunlight...

bathing the port...

and the boats...

coral encrusted sea coal...

like the view warms the cockles...

the slip cradle seems to have slipped...

as some early morning #punt activity...

breaks the still waters...

as the relief lifeboat Jock and Anne Slater rests in her berth...

keeping the transport company...

while the John Dory king takes ice...

providing a safe haven...

as that man Barry heads for home...

through the congested berths at high water...

the Newlyn Harbour Lights crew do their thing...

looks like the ALB will head the shouts league table this year...

mackerel are once again proving highly elusive for the handline fleet...

Ivan Alexander and his big brother all set for the next shout...

under today's somewhat spooky skies.

Can you tell your bloater from your kipper from your buckling?

We know a man who can!

Sonny Elliott of Rock-a-Nore Fisheries in Hastings explains the difference between a buckling, a kipper and a bloater ahead of the third Hastings Herring Fair in 2014. 

Read the full story at fishonfriday.org.uk

Quelle horreur! il est #FishyFriday!

High water and the Wherrytown Plaza skatepark comes under siege from the big tide...

with only two beam trawlers making landings and although the mix of fish includes lovely lemons...

and a handful of big cod...

auctioneer Ian takes the opportunity to push the buyers for the highest price possible...

as the few boxes of white fish like these plaice...

and gorgeous gurnards...

are heavily outnumbered by the black bulk of the trips from both boats...

a short morning's work from auctioneer Ryan...

with no net boats to sell at all...

the market is over soon enough...

as dawn brightens up a heavily overcast sky...

the Harvest Reaper still strains at her shore ropes alongside the market......

as does the visiting and recently up for sale late-season scalloper Aeolus...

after landing job number one is to refuel ready for the next fishy foray...

while this morning will see the Ajax pulling out of tier...

ahead of the crabber Harriet Eve...

a manouvre which takes careful handling by all hands...

and a careful watch......

and so it is that four hands are better than two when it comes to pulling boats back against the quay, an opportunity for the man on the Silver Dawn to slip the stern rope a little, but Matt wouldn't do that, would he?...

bare ribs aboard the Galilean...

looks like someone has touched up the blue boulders of late...

half an hour after high water and the Mission gets a wash down...

not a good day for the inshore boats today...

or passing cyclists...

as the onshore breeze pounds the beach at Newlyn green...

and gives the prom a covering of the finest Cornish Seaweed!

@penleelifeboat - high speed training

Today's training run saw the Ivan Ellen make a run out to the Runnelstone Buoy of Gwennap head and back...

with the entire exercise taking 1 hour, give or take a few seconds - in which time the boat covered 17.6 nautical miles - that makes an average speed for the trip of over 20mph - they don't hang around on training exercises down in Newlyn!

"Train one, save many"

AIS data courtesy of VesselTracker

Good to see the Penlee lifeboat Ivan Ellen out on exercise this morning complete with new recruits. No doubt the likes of old sea dogs aboard like Andrew Stevens will soon lick them into shape - let's hope they have good sea legs though as the amount of sympathy extended by Mr Stevens to a certain Keriolet skipper's brother when he was in the last stages of dying (or so he thought) from the sea-going affliction will not be received with any relish.

It's  hard life.

Latest #fishingnews - Fish landing obligation approved by EU

Today the Commission adopted a plan to reduce the wasteful practice of discarding – throwing overboard unwanted fish – in the North Sea. This discard plan concerns demersal fisheries, i.e. fish that feed on or near the sea bottom, and is a temporary measure to phase out discarding and gradually put in place the landing obligation, a key component of the EU's reformed Common Fisheries Policy. It follows similar plans for demersal species in the Atlantic earlier this month.

Discarding constitutes a substantial waste of resources that threatens the sustainable exploitation and economic viability of fisheries. The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations estimates that over 7 million tonnes - 8 % of the total global fish catches - are discarded yearly. The discard plan adopted today determines which demersal fisheries in the North Sea will be subject to the landing obligation, while also setting out certain exemptions. The first group of exemptions, so-called de minimis exemptions, allows discarding a small percentage of catches in fisheries where increasing the selectivity is difficult or where handling costs are disproportionately high. The second, so-called survivability exemption allows discarding species that have a high chance of surviving.

All exemptions have been set taking into account available scientific advice and following discussions with scientific advisory body STECF. Certain exemptions will be reassessed in 2016 taking into account additional supporting information from Member States.

The discard plans will apply from 1 January 2016 for one year, once final adoption takes place. Other discard plans will have to be adopted for 2017 to bring additional fisheries under the landing obligation.

Background:

Background to what is meant by discards and the forthcoming Landing Obligation.

The reformed CFP aims to make EU fisheries more sustainable. Between 2015 and 2019, EU fishermen will therefore gradually be required to land all fish they catch.

The CFP entails several provisions to facilitate the implementation of the landing obligation. They include specific flexibility mechanisms that should be implemented through comprehensive multiannual plans, or, in the absence of multiannual plans, through so-called discard plans. Discard plans are envisaged as a temporary measure with a maximum duration of three years. They are developed as joint recommendations agreed by Member States from the same region or sea basin, in this case Belgium, Germany, Denmark, France, Netherlands, Sweden and the UK.

Today's discard plan is not the first to be adopted: in October 2014 the Commission adopted discard plans for pelagic and industrial fisheries in all EU waters and for fisheries for cod in the Baltic. These plans have been applied since 1 January 2015. On 12 October 2015 two discard plans for demersal species in the Atlantic followed. 


More information:

Discard plan for certain demersal fisheries in the North Sea and in Union waters of ICES Division IIa

Annex