From Russia with love - well, Gdansk.

The Russian trawler, Nivenskoye from the Kalingrad based Fishing Company has steamed from Gdansk and is now heading south west off Cornwall to a destination unknown. Once the vessel is out of range of the shore-based AIS antennas the vessel's track can only be followed via satellite...

meanwhile, one of the world's most powerful tugs, the Abeille Bourbon has left her berth in Brest and is anchored in the lee of Ushant - presumably waiting on station in the event of any emergency cover that might occur as the severe storms predicted lash the western shipping...

she can be seen here showing off her huge power and sea-keeping abilities in this poor weather video.

Porthleven Art Auction lightshow

This coming Sunday, the 5th of February, on the evening anniversary of the storm that wrought so much havoc and damage inside Porthleven Harbour, all the pieces of art will be projected onto the iconic Porthleven clock tower for all to see. 

You will be able to see a livecast of the show here at 6:30pm on Sunday. Or yuou can bookmark a link to the this page to watch the livecast at the same time.

On that day three years ago, ten boats sank after successive huge waves smashed the timber baulks that normally protect the inner harbour from the effects of winter storms. The damage to boats and lost fishing gear meant that many of the boats were unable to fish again until repairs were made good and gear replaced.

Through the Gaps' contribution - 'Shattered'

It was Porthleven resident and Fishermen's Mission man Julian Waring who hit on the idea of salvaging the damaged timber baulks for the Cornish art and crafts community and others to create original and unique works of art to be auctioned in order that the mission might continue its work in Cornwall.  The range of people who then took up the creative challenge is not just restricted to local artists but includes well known names like chef Nathan Outlaw and poet laureate, Carol-Ann Duffy, Dame Judi Dench and other celebrities who have each produced a unique record to signify that day.


Other dates for your diary:

Art Exhibition: 5th – 10th March

Get a closer look at the amazing range of art that’s been created at Porthleven Old Lifeboat House Gallery – open 10.30am till 4.30pm.

Auction: 18th March from 4pm

Live at the Atlantic Inn in Porthleven on Saturday 18th, you can bid for your favourite piece, with all proceeds going directly to The Fishermen’s Mission. If you can’t make it to the event, you can bid online by following the link below.

Find out more about the auction and charity as a whole here.

The mornings are getting lighter.

Freshening breeze form the west...

modern crabber, built to carry hundreds of pots...

Rowse's latest addition to the fleet is up on the slip for below the waterline fitting out...

it's almost high water and the fleet are riding high...

signs of the main engine just fired up and on tick-over...

the Emma with a few new strings of pots ready for action.

Fishing Plotter Files

Fishing Plotter Files

On behalf of FLTCS for the the offshore oil and gas companies operating within the UK continental shelf area, Kingfisher Information Services provide fishermen with free fishing plotter files containing positions of all surface and subsea structures.

These plotter files are produced from the best available data sourced directly from the offshore operators. The plotter files contain information for all structures. Fishing plotter files are available for the following systems - please click on your system below to download file.

Please note: If fishermen have any queries, or become aware of possible errors in the FishSAFE data, please complete the feedback form, alternatively, contact Kingfisher using the details on the contact us page.

Litton Maxsea Penta SIS MicroPlot Sodena WIN Transas TMPlannerQuod Olex TRAX
	Oil & gas fishing plotter file data

For help loading the above files onto your fishing plotter, please see the installation help page or click here.

To receive regular FREE updates of oil & gas fishing plotter files, please register your details on the homepage of this website.

January 2017 quota allocations for certain fish species.

Trends in Scottish Fish Stocks 2016

A paper on the state of gadoid (cod family) fish stocks by the University of the Highlands and islands has just been published. The paper highlights some of the significant (for the good) changes in fish stocks in recent years.

Bertie Armstrong, chief executive of the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation, said: “We are delighted this report confirms the general trend of increasing fish stocks in Scottish waters. Much of this recovery can be attributed to the innovation of our fishermen in developing more selective types of fishing gear and pioneering other initiatives such as real time area closures.

“With Brexit looming, our fishermen can look to the future with real confidence. Regaining control of our own 200-mile Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) will provide a sea of opportunity for the implementation of fit-for-purpose sustainable fisheries management that benefits both our fishing communities and the marine environment.

“This steady and hard-won recovery must be nurtured and continued. The report underlines the clear importance of gaining full control of our EEZ, which must be a red-line issue during the forthcoming negotiations. Access to our waters should only be considered and discussed once we have achieved this control.”


Two parameters are commonly used to reflect the state of a fish stock and the level of exploitation to which it is subject:

• The Spawning Stock Biomass (SSB) is the estimated biomass (weight) of sexually mature fish in a stock, and is commonly used as a measure of the size of the stock.
• The Fishing Mortality Rate (F) is a measure of the proportion of a fish stock that is removed (caught) each year. F is measured on a logarithmic scale; thus a value of 1.0 (F1.0) corresponds to 63% of the stock being removed each year, F0.7corresponds to 50% of the stock being removed and F0.5 to 39%.

Two general trends are apparent from the whitefish data:

The spawning stock biomasses (SSB) of most whitefish stocks have increased
since the mid-2000s, in some cases by substantial amounts.

The fishing mortality rates (F) for all the species covered have declined since
the mid-2000s, again by substantial amounts in some cases.

Although the sizes of some stocks (such as cod and haddock) remain below levels seen in the past, stocks of others (such as plaice and hake) are at historic highs.

Read the paper online:

The paper was published by Ian R Napier (ian.napier@uhi.ac.uk) for the University of Highlands & Islands. 

Looking down on us now.

Dudley Penrose 1939-2017

The service provided by Penlee lifeboat station relies almost entirely on the unstinting support of volunteers - from the sea-going crew who see all the action to lifeboat station crew, to tea-making, cake-baking, stall-manning volunteers. So, it was particularly sad this morning to learn of the deaths of two outstanding of its most loyal and long-standing supporters:

"It truly is a very sad day for Penlee Lifeboat Station - their flag is flying at half mast for long-serving Head Launcher, Dudley Penrose, who passed away earlier today as well as long-serving supporter, Binkie Wallen.

Shipwright Dudley, a Mousehole man born and bred, joined the Penlee Lifeboat Shore Crew at the age of 17yrs. He was a 'runner', who at the sound of the maroon would run from his home on Raginnis Hill, Mousehole to the lifeboat station at Penlee Point to assist with the launching process.

In 1970 he became Head Launcher and served 47 years with the RNLI, retiring in 1983 when the lifeboat moved to Newlyn. Dudley loved the RNLI and everything about it - he was a loyal, dedicated, hard working, well respected volunteer, who was much loved by all at Penlee - in Dudley's words, 'The RNLI was my life, the lifeboat always came first'.

Our thoughts are with his daughter Linda (wife of Ajax skipper Alan Dwan) and the family. Another loyal member of our lifeboat family has crossed the bar."

Get the full picture from the Penlee RNLI lifeboat page on Facebook.