Ever wondered why scientific fisheries acoustic surveys seem to go against the grain? Here's a very informative video from, Steve Mackinson the Chief Scientific Officer to the SPFA explaining why stock surveys appear to be conducted in a counter-intuitive way to that which fishermen might see as the means to determine the distribution of fish in a given area.
The Basse Gouach disembarking his fishing, Sunday evening, in Douarnenez
Since the beginning of January, all the sardines landed at Concarneau, Saint-Guénolé and Douarnenez are sold in one place, the auction of Rosmeur. With 90% of online purchases, this trial heads in the direction of a virtualization of the sales. It could be expanded to other species and fleets.
VesselTracker's AIS shows an identical fishing pattern to that of the Cornish sardine boats.
The sardine is abundant in the Bay of Douarnenez. At the beginning of the year, the sardine fleet went out every evening to go behind the Cape of the Goat or to the point of Tréfeuntec, for a few well-provided shots. Very early in the night, fishermen can send their input estimates. Buyers know quickly the amounts to put on sale in the morning. That off Douarnenez concentrates all their attention. "Avoiding price differences" Since January 3rd, it has centralized all the sardines landed in Cornouaille, which do not go directly to the Makfroid company. "This winter, the association of sardines and the producers' organization wanted to promote a systematic auction, which we know how to do: I thought we could test a unique selling point, to avoid price differentials between ports, "said Christophe Hamel, director of auctions at the Quimper Chamber of Commerce. At Concarneau and Saint-Guénolé, once the shots are landed and the actual quantities known, the information is transmitted to the Rosmeur auction. "By fax, for now, until one day we had a common database, evolving in real time," says Christophe Hamel. At 6:30 am, José Salaün, responsible for the auction of Douarnenez, can start the sale, rather fast. Only a few buyers are physically present: 90% of purchases are now made via the internet. No need to see the fish so much are the characteristics of the Douarnenist sardine, Bigoudene or Concarnoise well known. "That's why the sardine lent itself to this unique sales experience: it's a flotilla concentrated on a single product, quality, everyone in front of his screen knows what to bid for," adds Christophe Hamel. One sales team The test conducted during this winter campaign goes in the direction of a "virtualization of sales", in his eyes, inevitable. It allows a smoothing of the price (around 60 cents per kilo currently) between the ports: with sales spread over several sites, therefore not taking place at the same time, the courses could be different. For the ICC, it is also a way of putting only one sales team moving in the morning, instead of three. Simplified organization, lower costs ... the temptation to expand the experience to other products and other fleets may exist. "We started on the species that is easiest to group, the reflection is, of course, conducted on other fisheries, but it is more complex, we are dependent on the technical tools," summarizes the director of auctions. Meanwhile, the single sale of sardines may well see its late hour. That of 6:30 am is judged a little late, especially since the ships land early in the night. The buyers want to be able to work the fish as quickly as possible. At several levels, the world of fishing is a world that is accelerating.
In 1981, there were 6,900 fishing vessels in California. Today, only 1,800 remain. Exploring the causes of the decline, including complex regulations, high costs, declining fisheries, and competition with cheap farmed and imported seafood, OF THE SEA follows the fishermen and entrepreneurs who are creating new models for supporting sustainably produced seafood. With local filmmaker Mischa Hedges at the helm, OF THE SEA tells the story of California fishing communities struggling to revive a fading way of life and, through them, the story of the future of sustainable seafood. The film poses the question, “What can we learn from fishermen?” (A lot, as it turns out.) 70 min; Sneak Preview.
The Scottish Pelagic Fishermen’s Association (SPFA) has launched a new Facebook page to highlight how the association is working with scientists to support the sustainability of pelagic fisheries.
Created by the SFPA’s new chief scientific officer, Dr Steven Mackinson, the Facebook platform will aid in the communication with the fishing industry and other interested parties regarding the broad sweep of scientific work being undertaken by the association.
The initial content is focusing on an industry led survey currently underway on the status of the West of Scotland herring stock and includes video clips of some of the sampling work being undertaken.
Dr Mackinson said: “There is often much mystery shrouding the techniques used in marine science and the challenges encountered. Our aim is to shed light on this scientific work by providing relevant information on our Facebook page in an informative and easily accessible manner.”
