Through the Gaps! - Newlyn Fishing News Cornwall UK fish commercial fishing fish cooking and art

Friday 5 February 2016

Full-on #FishyFriday in Newlyn fish market!

The time of arrival dictates when fish from the boat is sold, first in first sold...

though only the boats over 10m or thereabouts get to have their names put on the landings board...

cod have wildly varying skin patterns...

the unmistakable boggle-eyed Bothick - or pout as it is more commonly known...

the Ladram sisters, Joy and Karen both landed their fish yesterday...

along with the beam trawler Billy Rowney, tree huge monk tails, no sign of any monk cheeks or livers on the market...

the mighty megrim season has yet to start in earnest...

perks for the net boats are roe from their big white fish like cod, pollack and ling...

ray bigger then a box...

another nice shot of red bream...

enough to keep Cefas busy collecting otolith and size data...

with their 125mm mesh the net boats won't have any problems with discards so big ling...

blackjacks...

and ray will continue to be the mainstay of their whitefish trips...

cold enough to keep all those hands in their pockets it seems as staff from St Ives based fish processor Matthew Stevens get a tour of the market to see where the bulk of their fish comes from...

bright red gills - pollack as fresh as it gets...

those big ling are always watching...

celebrating the extension of certification for MSC Certified Cornish Hake to Plymouth and Brixham fish auctions, the CFPO has commissioned special fish tallies to remind buyers of this highly rated fish...

more than enough to keep the buyers busy...

ready for distribution...

last of the net fish being sold before 7am...

just the cuttles to go...

with another blow on the way today will be the last chance for some of the smaller boats to get a few tows or hauls in...

decks all set for the next trip...

the run of poor weather is not helping the sardine boats either.

Thursday 4 February 2016

EU measures for protecting seabass- the response from NEF

EU measures for protecting seabass: our response

Photo credit: © Chris Williams

FEBRUARY 3, 2016 // BY: CHRIS WILLIAMS

The fate of European seabass continues to be one of the most widely debated topics in EU fisheries management.

With seabass numbers now at dangerously low levels, the EU has put in place a series of extra measures to try and rebuild stocks, including a bold temporary ban on bass fishing by many commercial fishing gears (for example trawls or drift nets) for the first half of the year.

EU emergency measures on seabass by gear type

These measures will have a major impact on bass fishing and conservationists, anglers and commercial fishers are all reacting from different perspectives.

So how do the measures fare against our proposals last year?

It’s clear that drastic action continues to be necessary to protect the bass stock. While this will mean reduced bass fishing opportunities in 2016, the alternative is even worse: a complete collapse in the stock – a major risk that the EU has been very clear about.

The measures are also welcome in the differential approach taken towards gear types – the wider impact on the environment or the dependence of particular parts of the fleet on specific species such as bass. Different fishing gear have different impacts: our research has shown that the social, economic and environmental performance of some fleets (hook and line) is significantly better than other fleets (demersal trawlers).

However, there is a significant problem with the new measures.

Article 10 of the regulation made catching and keeping bass illegal from January 1st 2016, but the regulation was not enforced by Member States until February 2016. The confusion has been exploited, adding even more pressure on the bass stocks.

Throughout January, bass have been targeted by fleets (from the UK and France) and large scale trawlers and seine netters. This has outraged many of the small scale fishers who depend on bass exclusively.

Unfortunately a lack of communication and clarity is nothing new in fisheries management, both in how decisions are made and how and when they will be enforced.

While we shouldn’t have to wait for a crisis to solve a problem – in this case the plummeting seabass stock biomass – it’s positive that the UK and EU are now using a best value approach.

Now they should apply this across other species before they too reach crisis point, not as a response. Using social, environmental and economic criteria is a key pillar of the reformed Common Fisheries Policy – and it’s time to put it into practice.

Who are NEF?

NEF is the UK's leading think tank promoting social, economic and environmental justice. Their aim is to transform the economy so that it works for people and the planet.

According to NEF, the UK and most of the world's economies are increasingly unsustainable, unfair and unstable. It is not even making us any happier as many of the richest countries in the world do not have the highest wellbeing.

Live from Malta - Economic Advice on Fisheries Management

Date

Thu, Feb 4 2016 8:30 AM GMT — Thu, Feb 4 2016 5:30 PM GMT

About

The European Commission (DG MARE) in collaboration with the European Association of Fisheries Economists (EAFE) and the University of Malta are delighted to welcome you to the Conference “Economic Advice in Fisheries Management: a Trilogue between Science, Administration and Stakeholders”.