Wednesday's busy market.

Only grade A quality tallies needed on Newlyn to go with the five EU sizes used for all commercially landed fish...

inshore and beam trawlers today, and of course the net boats which for some reason never get put on the sales board... #tradition...

some don't...

and some do have spots...

but not many weigh over 4kg!...

plenty of haddock moving over the grounds, even inshore...

good fshing on flats for the Imogen III...

though uyoung Roger won't be best pleaaed the beamer has bagged these Dorys...

everyhwre the boats fish there are haddock #thingsaintwhattheyusedtobe...

with summer on the way the megrim catches will rise for the beam trawlers...

blood red, the colour if fresh fish gills...

buying power on Newlyn...

plenty of big cod being caught...

and a few eight-leggers on the grounds...

what the net boats bring back to port...

along with these cracking turbot...

and hake from the Karen of Ladram...

enough to keep the buyers busy...

and auctioneer Ian in full flow...

Mr & Mrs blackback...

another black back, well stern to be precise...

clear decks on the St Georges...

keeping our seas clean...

wood work in progress

using centuries old techniques, like making a former from thin wood to get the precise shape for those long planks that have to be bent around the frames...

will bring the Galilee back to life...

the port's two biggest crabbers...

looking unsettled today...

behind closed doors in Badcock's Block.

"Brexit would mean bigger quotas - but no free-for-all, states fisheries minister"

Fishereies Minsiter George Eustace and Local MP for Penzance and St Ives, Derek Thomas are due to pay a visit to Newlyn and meet fishermen with 12 weeks to go to the EU, "In or Out' referendum.


Here's the story courtesy of the Plymouth Herald:

George Eustice will make the fishing case for Brexit George Eustice will make the fishing case for Brexit

A vote for Brexit would see the UK take back control of fishing waters and secure fairer quotas for Westcountry fleets, the fisheries minister will tell industry members today.

During a visit to Newlyn in Cornwall, Defra minister and Vote Leave supporter George Eustice will look to convince fishermen that a life outside the EU will leave them "better off".

But amid promises of bigger quotas and stronger negotiating powers, he will also drive home his message that Brexit does not mean a "free for all".

The EU is far from popular among members of the fishing industry, who typically regard the Common Fisheries Policy as biased toward their continental counterparts. Some have gone as far as to describe the complex system of quotas, discard bans and mutual access arrangements as "Draconian".

George Eustice (right), Newlyn Harbour Commissioner Kevin Bennets (centre) with fellow Brexiter Derek Thomas

Speaking to the Western Morning News ahead of his Cornwall trip, Mr Eustice agreed that fishermen in the South West get an unfair deal. This, he suggests, is why fishing in particular stands to benefit from a vote to leave.

"At the moment, in the Celtic sea and in the Channel, fishermen don't really get a fair [quota] allocation," he says. "For example, France gets about twice as much plaice as the UK.

"When it comes to haddock and cod, France gets about three of four times more than English fishermen. [But] if we were to leave the EU, we would re-establish control of our waters out to 200 nautical miles, and this would give us a starting point to renegotiate quota allocations for the UK."

The Camborne and Redruth MP arrives in Cornwall just days before a planned protest against EU restrictions on sea bass fishing. Under current rules, introduced earlier this year, anglers face a six month ban on fishing followed by a one-bag catch limit. But commercial fishermen will enjoy a monthly quota of up to 1,300kg – an arrangement campaigners describe as the "privatisation" of stocks.

Mr Eustice accepts that the quota for anglers "isn't a huge amount" and says he plans to negotiate a better deal at the next December council. But he stresses that the regulations are an important step in preserving "precarious" bass stocks, and says the UK secured "the best possible compromise".

"It's important to understand that just because we leave the EU doesn't mean there will just be a free for all," he states. "We're still going to need quotas, because we do want sustainable fisheries and we do want to protect our marine environment.

"[But] if we take back national control we would be able to get a fairer allocation of the international quota [and] hopefully agree mutual access to waters on a fairer basis than we have at the moment."


Responding to the minister's comments, Jim Portus, chief executive of the South Western Fish Producers Organisation, said he was "broadly" in agreement.

He said he would be particularly keen to see Mr Eustice pledge to eradicate "quota hoppers" – foreign vessels that register under the British flag to benefit from UK quotas. "Once and for all, he could improve our coastal and fishing town prospects to great effect," he said.

He also acknowledged that CFP rules have resulted in "burgeoning fish stocks" for ports like Plymouth and Newlyn, and will likely be retained.

"It's not what many... think Brexit would deliver, but George and the next ministers are not going to release the handbrake for a free-for-all ride," he said.

James McGrory, spokesman for the Stronger In campaign, disputed Mr Eustice's claims. He said "vague" promises about maintaining regulation "just don't cut it".

"George Eustice is unable to make a firm proposal as to how he'd make sure there was no such 'free for all'," he said. "Fish do not have passports, they do not recognise territorial limits and a co-ordinated approach across the waters they pass is needed.

"[And] his claim we could 'take control' of our waters for up to 200 nautical miles is laughable because our navy simply isn't able to protect British waters over that kind of area.

"In 2010 there were 1,415 'at sea inspections' of foreign fishing vessels in British waters, but by 2013 there were just 632 - leaving many fishermen to complain that foreign vessels are not inspected enough already."

Story courstey of Kate Langston.

Read more: http://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/Brexit-mean-bigger-quotas-free-states-fisheries/story-29055176-detail/story.html#ixzz451m3Lzt7 
@heraldnewslive on Twitter 

European Commission invests over €7.5 million for sustainable growth and jobs in the marine and maritime sectors

Commission invests over €7.5 million under the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund to boost innovation, growth and jobs in the marine and maritime sectors.

The European Commission is investing over €7.5 million to boost innovation and create jobs in the marine and maritime sectors. The money is available under the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and divided in calls for proposal focusing on the key areas where the European Union can have the biggest impact: skills, creativity and technology.

Innovation in sectors like aquaculture, biotechnology or ocean energy is vital for the blue economy to thrive, as recognised by the Commission's Communication on Innovation in the Blue Economy. However, a number of bottlenecks are currently holding back this drive for innovation. They include a lack of highly skilled professionals, under-investment in knowledge and technology, and slow progress from research results to the commercial stage.

Commissioner for Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Karmenu Vella said:

"With these calls for proposals, the European Commission is taking another step to create the conditions for blue growth in Europe. We are developing skills. We are rewarding creativity. We are boosting technology. Armed with these assets, I am convinced that the European maritime industry can become a global pioneer of blue growth."

The investment earmarked under the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund will comprise three calls for proposal:

1. Under the Blue Careers call, €3.45 million will be made available to equip job-seekers with useful skills necessary for the marine and maritime economy, re-train those willing to join the sector, and help people already working in the blue economy to progress in their career. It can also be used to make maritime professions more visible and to attract young talent, in particular women.

2. Under the Blue Labs call, which corresponds to €1.7 million, the Commission is promoting innovative "laboratories", where students and recent postgraduates team up with experienced tutors from the local business community and the public sector to address maritime and marine issues. This could mean, for example, developing new technologies to eliminate marine litter like microplastics or nanomaterials; building unmanned robotic systems to discover and protect underwater cultural heritage; or finding out how marine micro-organisms can be used to break down hazardous substances.

3. Under the Blue Technology call, the Commission is putting up a total of €2.52 million to encourage public-private partnerships that will support the transfer of new technologies and research results into commercial applications and coordinate strategic investment at sea-basin level.

More information

Calls for proposals:

Blue Careers in Europe

Blue Labs - innovative solutions for maritime challenges

Blue Technology - transfer of innovative solutions to sea basin economies

Commissioner Vella's Speech announcing the Calls for Proposal.

Information Day - Blue Growth calls under the EMFF - 5 April 2016

Delivering Innovation in the Blue Economy - 7,5M€ to boost projects !

This year, three calls for proposals will be launched under the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund to foster blue growth across Europe. The European Commission is organising a Launch Event to present those calls.

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The event will be opened by Karmenu Vella (tbc), Commissioner for Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, followed by keynote speakers from the European Parliament, DG MARE and DG Research and Innovation as co-authors of the Communication on Innovation in the Blue economy.

When?

5 April 2016, from 09:30-13:00

Where?

CHARLEMAGNE BUILDING

Rue de la Loi 170
B-1000 BRUSSELS
Meeting room JENKINS

What?

Final Agenda

Webstreaming (the link will only be activated on the day of the event).

How to participate?

Registration is now closed. For questions, please contact the functional mailbox: EMFF-EVENTS@ec.europa.eu

Please note that, due to the size of the meeting room, registrations will be accepted on a «first come-first served» basis.

Follow and interact with us on Twitter: #bluegrowth

Background information

Blue Growth calls infographics.

With a budget of over 7,5M€, the calls 'Blue careers', 'Blue labs' and 'Blue technology' will respectively help enhancing career opportunities in the maritime economy, stimulating the creativity of young researchers and set-up cooperations that will help bring research results to the market in promising blue growth technology areas.

The calls will be open to all sea basins surrounding the EU coasts and will target a wide range of stakeholders of the blue economy

The launch of these three calls represents a concrete step to implement the "Communication from the Commission: Innovation in the Blue Economy: realising the potential of our seas and oceans for jobs and growth ".

Fish quota allocation a fair share for the UK?

In the interests of open discussion the following article from Bryce Stewart has been re-published in full.  In this, Stewart argues that the figures often quoted (not only by UKIP but the likes of Greenpeace et al) are actually wrong and misleading in the portrayal of fishstock allocation for the in comparison to other EU states:

As a result of membership of the Common Fisheries Policy, we are now allowed to catch less than 20% of the fish that swim in British waters. The other 80% we have given away to the rest of Europe.

Nigel Farage, UKIP leader, on the campaign trail

When fact checking this statement, it is first of all worth pointing out that if the UK was allowed to catch 20% of the fish that swim in British waters and the EU took the rest, then there would be no fish left in the sea.

In attempting to check the facts behind this assertion, one must assume, therefore, that Nigel Farage is referring to the allocations of fishing quotas which are determined by the EU’s Common Fisheries Policy (CFP).

In 2015, the CFP allocated the United Kingdom a total of 612,612 tonnes of quota from more than 100 different fish and shellfish stocks. The total EU quota for these stocks was 2,069,202 tonnes, so the UK was allocated 30% of these fish (and shellfish) quotas.

These figures include various fish which live beyond the boundaries of UK waters, such as Arctic cod and west of Ireland sole. If one considers the 73 different fish stocks which live in UK waters, the total EU quota was 1,920,915 tonnes, of which 585,211 tonnes was allocated to the UK (which also happens to be 30%). Individual quota allocations differ according to stock, as figure one below shows. For example, the UK gets 84% of the North Sea haddock quota, 81% of North Sea monkfish quota and 98% of west of Scotland prawn quota; but only 4% of North Sea sprat quota, 18% of northern hake and 28% of North Sea plaice.

Figure 1. 2015 quota allocations for 73 stocks which live in UK waters, grouped by region (% in brackets refers to the proportion of total quota the UK received in each region). The numbers on each bar refer to the percentage of EU quota allocated to the UK (note West of Scotland Mackerel is off the scale, as EU quota was over 420,000 tonnes).

Although UK waters are extensive, as the map below shows, the fish stocks which live in our waters are by no means confined to them. Some, like mackerel, make extensive migrations and only pass through our waters for a short period. Others are more sedentary, like prawns which stay close to their burrows in muddy habitats.

Figure 2. Map of the British Isles showing UK waters. The UK’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) is in red, EU member states' EEZ in blue and other EEZs in green. The five main regions referred to in Figure 1 are labelled in white.

Many species live in different places either at different times of the year or in different phases of their life cycle. In the case of North Sea herring for example, most of the juveniles live in the south east corner around the German bight, whereas the adults tend to congregate around the Shetland Isles prior to spawning at various sites along the British coast. North Sea cod are found throughout the North Sea but prefer spawning along the border between UK and Norwegian waters.

So despite the UK having quite extensive waters, fish stocks do not respect political boundaries, and many are mobile at some stage in their life: these fish are exclusive to neither the UK, the EU, nor the bordering Scandinavian states, but are a shared resource. It would be a major undertaking to establish exactly which proportions of each fish stock would occupy any national waters. These are also likely to change throughout the year, and from year to year. The CFP was designed to manage the mobile fishing fleets that pursue these common, mobile resources.

Although the majority of fish stocks around the UK are managed under the CFP, some important stocks, mainly local shellfish species such as crabs, lobsters and scallops, are also managed under national jurisdictions and bilateral agreements, for example between the EU and states such as Norway and Iceland.

The status of all stocks is determined by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES), the recognised authority that provides scientific advice to managers. This advice is updated annually and, where possible, includes measures of stock status such as the total biomass of adults and the rate of exploitation the stock has been subjected to by the fishery.

Although the CFP is much derided, various reforms have actually resulted in improvements in the status of many fish stocks in the last decade or so: exploitation rates are down, and in most cases, to levels which are sustainable. The ICES advice also includes recommendations for total allowable catches (TACs) for each stock. Each TAC is then considered by the EU and divided into the quotas which are allocated among the member states according to fixed percentages, under allocation keys known as “relative stability”, which are based on historic fishing patterns.

Verdict

In 2015, the UK was allocated 30% of the EU quota for fishing ground stocks which occur in UK waters. The area of UK waters relative to other member states is certainly high, but the exact proportions depend on the region and which components of member state waters should be considered.

If Farage’s point is that most of the quota for fish stocks that live in UK waters are fished by other member states, then he is correct; but the figure is not 80%, more like 70%. However, these are not “our” fish, the fish that live in UK waters are no more British than they are German, Dutch, Belgian, Irish or Norwegian: they are in fact European.

Review

This is a thorough and well-illustrated response which uses the most reliable and up-to-date information available. By demonstrating that the majority of fish in our waters are in fact European rather than British it highlights a key point – even if Britain left the EU we would still need to negotiate quotas which took this into account. There is no guarantee this would ensure any more of the catch.

It’s also interesting to look at these figures in terms of value rather than just landings. Three of the top five most valuable UK fisheries are for shellfish: prawns, scallops and crabs. For these more sedentary species we already have almost complete control. Although some fish, such as haddock are mainly eaten in the UK, a lot of shellfish from British waters is exported to EU countries. The vast majority of our scallop catch – the UK’s third most valuable fishery – goes to France and Belgium. Likewise Spain and Portugal take a lot of our crabs and prawns. Let’s concentrate on looking after what we are responsible for, more wisely.

Hazards of fishing - Big Don suffered from the bends.

More evidence the Mission building will be up and running in its new guise as essential services get plumbed in...

three huge monk tails kick off this morning's market watch...

along with a dollop of Dovers...

and haddock for the inshore trawler Elisabeth Veronique...

name the three kinds of ray...

and a box of beauties...

rare large mackerel...

more signs of Spring as a few spiders put in an appearance...

at the sign of the cross...

quality MSC Certified Cornish hake on the market this morning...

from the good ship Britannia V...

and a handful of bass from the AA...

 and a selection of tails...

about to put out more post, the Sovereign about to take on bait...

busy this morning as the  Shiralee has to queue for ice...

not so smooth on the way out this morning for the punt, Evening Star...

followed by the Elisabeth Veronique...

 bound away again...

always happy to be at sea, septuagenarian Dennis Pascoe geads out through the gaps...

followed by young Mr Morley...

looking back at an almost empty harbour...

across the bow of the sailing ship Bessie Ellen...

no doubt the forensic squad will be called in to take away paint samples from whomever gave the end of the quay a ding over the weekend...

the Scillies marine medical link for the Doctor and midwife of the Islands...

looking glum and describing the water as 'soup' - meaning the fish cannot see the lures the handliners work with - not a good start to the week for the punt men!...

after taking ice the Shiralee is bound away for the day...

now we know why the Filadelifa was forced to return after just one haul!, bad luck Don.