"They call it Stormy Monday, but Tuesdays' just the same"

It's dark and dismal outside but with some fish on the market the buyers are looking more cheerful this morning...

though the mix of fish is fairly restricted as the only boats to land any quantity are two of the big netters and their whitefish trips of blackjacks...

even a few big huss...

enough to concentrate the minds...

of an attentive audience...

these guys will go for top dollar this morning...

ID this fish...

a box of pouting gets the Cefas treatment...

that cod is longer then a 7st (45Kg) bpx...

with its huge gill plates and gills needed to get as much O2 in its circulatory system as possible...

the Govenek of Ladram had fished in the Bristol Channel for these fish alongside the Joy and Karen of Ladram...

all set for tomorrow's auction...

an entire fleet in a box...

Crystal Sea II ready to land...

let's hope she stays put for a good while yet...

And to end this morning on a high note, before the weather blows all the fleet back in again - probably the best version of this blues standard, from 1965 - one for you Gibson fans - a triple pickup Black Beauty at its best in the hands of God.

Iconic small fishing boats of Cornwall face extinction warns Cornish fisherman.

The reality of the ban on discards - partly the result of a huge TV and media campaign - in the form of the Landing Obligation is already being felt here in the south west - and for some the results are already dire. 

Remember, the inshore fleet (under 10m vessels like the Lady Hamilton below) only have access to 4% of the TOTAL UK fish quota.

"A FISHERMAN has warned that Cornwall's iconic fishing boats face extinction due to new government and European Union red tape. The warning comes from fisherman Chris Bean, who has been forced to tie up his boat, the 8-metre Lady Hamilton, on the Helford River. He has been forced to pay a retainer to keep his crew but says he is unable to work, despite an abundance of fish in the sea. The Government has argued that quotas are essential to preserve fish stocks and ensure the long-term sustainability of the fishing industry.

Skipper/owner Chris Bean on the hauler of the Lady Hamilton off Falmouth.

Mr Bean said his quota for cod stands at only 230kg a month, which his boat can catch in just two days. A total ban on catching sea bass later this month will also hit small boats across Cornwall and beyond, he warned. "This has led to a disastrous situation for the small boat fishermen around our coast," he said. "After all, it is them that provide the local communities with the buzz, the tradition, the jobs and seamanship skills that so much of the nation enjoys, expects and admires."

He said he would be unable to catch alternative fish without also netting cod, which he would be forced to discard. He added: "Unless immediate action is taken to support small vessels, they will absolutely disappear. "Only an overhaul of fishing opportunities with the reallocation of quota will prevent the demise of a once vibrant local inshore fleet."

Mr Bean, who has fished since 1969, said there was plenty of fish reported off the coast including a shoal off the east side of the Lizard peninsula which was the biggest he had seen since the Seventies. "There must have been hundreds of thousands of tons of mixed pelagic fish there," he said. "There were pilchards, mackerel, herring scads and sprats all making up the feed for the normal winter predators. "The last two or three years had been the best I can remember for bass and cod."

Mr Bean has built up his business in the past 10 years, supplying fish to high-end restaurants in London, across Cornwall and local farmers' markets such as the twice-weekly one in Truro. "Unless immediate action is taken to support small vessels, they will absolutely disappear," he added. "Only an overhaul of fishing opportunities with the reallocation of quota will prevent the demise of a once vibrant local inshore fleet."

Fisheries Minister George Eustice, MP for Redruth, Camborne and Hayle, said quotas were crucial to safeguard the long-term success of the fishing industry. He said: "Quotas play a crucial role in ensuring the sustainability of our stocks and it is important we strike the right balance between supporting all our fishermen and protecting the marine environment. "To help the inshore fleet, we took unused quota from the over 10-metre vessels and permanently transferred this to the under 10s, giving them an extra 678 tonnes in 2015. "This year, these vessels will also receive more than 1,000 tonnes of quota uplift to support smaller scale fishermen as they adapt to the discard ban, which came into force on 1 January 2016."

The EU Fisheries and Agriculture Council, after discussions with the UK Government, decided last month to a six-month closure of sea bass fisheries, to run from January to June.

Low-impact inshore fishing boats have a partial ban between February and March during spawning periods."

Courtesy of the West Briton. Follow @westbriton on Twitter 

#Penlee lifeboat Ivan Ellen out on a shout tonight.

Just making her way back to Nelwyn through the gaps, the Ivan Ellen was called out on a shout at 17:51 off the back of the harbour over in Penzance. #RNLI

Padstow and Appledore lifeboats attend to broken down cargo ship off Lundy.

The 91m cargo vessel Verity carrying scrap metal suffered serious engine difficulties on Thursday just after 12.30pm.  The AIS track shows how she drifted without power before being towed by the Dutch naval vessle D Ruyter which towed her to a safe anchorage in the lee of Lundy Island. The Padstow and Appledore lifeboats stood by (seen in red), Padstow eventually returning to port...

In the meantime the tug Bremen Fighter based at Holyhead on Anglesey steamed south to tow the stricken vessel to Swansea. Seven crew remain aboard the cargo ship.

Car carrier 'Modern Express' with huge list adrift in the bay of Biscay.

These car carriers always look top-heavy when they pass you at sea.

The drift of the "Modern Express" was steaming on Jan 29. The ship is rolling in a swell of 4-5 meters and has a drift speed of less than 1,3 knots in winds of 27-36 km/h about 168 miles west of La Rochelle. In the morning of Jan 29 the Argonaute of the French Navy joined the other ships in site. Salvors of Smit intended to try a boarding in the afternoon in order to prepare a towing connection to the Abeille Bourbon.

After 39 years of NOAA/NMFS fisheries management, how are they doing? How are we doing because of their efforts?

Freshly landed fish are rare enough on this freshy #FishyFriday!

Six am and a small huddle of buyers are all that is left on the market this morning...

desperately looking for some fish to buy...

from just a couple of inshore boats lucky enough to get out ...

and fish for a few pollack...

with not more than a dozen boxes in total fish will be at a premium come Monday's market...

as the weather is still poor enough to keep all but the biggest boats in port, though today will see the rest of the big netters head back out to sea at the start of this neap tide...

the Fish Box Club will no doubt be supplying a few lucky customers...

while the grading machine will lie be ready for action again come Sunday midnight when the first of next week's fish are landed...

the bigger boats in the port put out 'springs' - two opposing ropes rigged fore and aft of the boat that help minimise the movement of the boat against the quay...

won't be long before the Emma Louise is blazing a path out to sea again...

but for now the quay is quiet.