Monday morning in Newlyn.

Another day starts for Jamie Roberts aboard the Three Jays...

while inside the fish market there is just the one beam trawler and a handful of inshore trawlers along with two mystery netters this morning...

more like a box of snakes...

cod showing off their blood-red gills...

the plaice's tail...

the head of the meg, as megrim sole are known...

young Roger Nowell's haul of John Dory...

from a sea of them...

though Tom on the Harvest Reaper managed to steal a few this trip...

while Bracken scooped up a few reds...

and a handful of haddock...

a solitary prize specimen of a John Dory...

with its remarkable tail...

while Mr Curtiss stuck to his soles...

all of the boats seemed to get lucky...

 with a single bit butt each...

though mystery netter one, the Ygraine's was not quite...

the beast from the Elisabeth Veronique...

you know where you are...

almost celestial this morning...

and rays of sunshine are not the only rays on the market...

but there was another big shot of hake from the other mystery netter, the Ajax...

her fish getting the once-over form the buyers...

with keen bidding and good prices...

Radio 4's In Business production team were on the market this morning talking here to Paul Trebilcock from the CFPO about Brexit and the future of fishing from a Newlyn,perspective...

with a few hake ear-wigging the conversation form their boxes...

T is for turbot...

and H is for MSC Certified Cornish hake...

two inshore trawlers queue for ice...

one VHF radio for sale, a bargain!

Newlyn boat montage.

A short video showcasing some of the boats that have passed Through the Gaps in the last few months.

May the 19th #FishyFriday

Just the one Scottish prawner in port last night...

and her whitefish (the prawns go by lorry back to Scotland for processing) went on the market this morning along with six other inshore trawlers' fish and another mystery netter...

cracking line caught fish form the pollack king, Dave Smith on the Sea Spray...

while Brackan popped a good shot of lemons ashore...

while Tom on the Harvest Reaper bashed a few of young Mr Nowell's JDs on the head...

all of which kept the buyers busy bidding...

two shades of Dover sole...

name this fish...

when it comes to red fish these red mullet take some beating...

though a tub gurnard, buried in sea salt and baked whole are truly delicious - give them 30-40 minutes in a hot oven......

a pair of bug brill, much beloved of British Airways transatlantic flights at one time...

best butt on the market...

rare and very expensive this morning- the not so humble mackerel...

you've been framed...

true to the man's word, the occasional shower forecast duly arrived at 7am...

not before a superb shot of MSC Certified hake sold quickly on the market from this morning's mystery netter, the Govenek of Ladram...

who also provided a few cracking big red mullet...

and this huge 5kg plaice!..

ahead of the inshore netter, Sovereign Ocean Fish's scalloper Men Dhu has just arrived to unload her catch...

life on the edge...

there are net drums...

and net drums...

the port's newest sardine boat's is all but rigged ready for sea...

while the Radiance is half way through her paint job.

Conservative manifesto fishing fail shocker!

Run-up to the Referendum - FFL flotilla off Newlyn Harbour last year

FFL's (Fishing for Leave) website is carrying this story on its front page this morning - where just four words in the Conservative manifesto have set alarm bells ringing around the coast!

Here's what FFL say:

"FFL are incredulous over 4 specific words in the Conservative manifesto which indicate the government will only take back a tiny slice of UK water out to 12 miles!

Analysis and scrutiny of every word is key in any legal or political document. One of the “acid tests” of Brexit is to take back sovereign control from the EU of all UK waters and resources within our Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) out to 200 miles or the mid-line under international law. This would allow Britain to reclaim a £6.3bn pound industry, worth tens of thousands of jobs, to rejuvenate coastal communities but the manifesto wilts on this key issue when scrutinised properly. 

Many of the commitments in the manifesto are welcome. The government has committed to “work with the industry…to introduce a new regime… that will preserve and increase stocks… to ensure prosperity for a new generation” and FFL looks forward to fully engaging to do so. However, without sovereign control of ALL waters and resources inside the EEZ all other commitments are worthless without the raw materials and the most important ingredient – regaining our waters. 

The manifesto states that the UK “will be fully responsible for the access and management of the waters where we have historically exercised sovereign control”. The choice of the last 4 words are the key. They are ambiguous and a delusory play on words. 

They don’t trip off the tongue and this peculiar yet deliberate choice of words are of dire concern and ring alarm bells for a total backslide and fudged deal. 

Why hasn’t the natural wording of “all UK waters” or perhaps “all our EEZ” been used?? 

Why? Because the UK has never been able to exercise sovereign control over our EEZ in the waters between 12 and 200 miles from our shores! The UK has only ever been able to exercised sovereign control out to 12 miles before joining the EU! 

Britain was already an EU member and bound by the CFP when international fishing limits were extended to 200 miles. The UK recognised her sovereignty over the EEZ out to 200miles, with the Fishery Limits Act of 1976, but these waters were automatically subverted to the EU which exercised sovereign control instead of the UK as per the terms of the CFP foundation Regulation 2141/1970, the terms of which, in Article 2, Section 3, said the EU would control 

“the maritime waters…. which are so described by the laws in force in each Member State”. 

Therefore, although the UK recognised her sovereignty over the EEZ, the UK has never been able to historically exercised control between 12 and 200 miles because it was automatically subverted by the EU! 

Before the UK joined the EU, Britain’s controlled fisheries up to 12 miles. This was reduced to 6 miles when the UK signed the London Fisheries Convention of 1964.
The EU adopted the terms of the London Convention and the UK Accession Treaty, Article 100 only authorised member states “to restrict fishing in waters under their sovereignty or jurisdiction, situated within a limit of six nautical miles” 

Although we welcome the manifesto commitment of finally committing to scrapping the 1964 London Fisheries Convention, that FFL alone successfully campaigned for, that only regains exclusive control back up to 12 miles once the UK leaves the CFP.
Therefore, the manifestos choice of 4 words are deliberate and indicate, as FFL has continually warned, that the government has no intention of taking back control of all our waters. Is only this to avoid being contentious to the EU as they look to build a “deep and special relationship” with their “EU friends and partners”? 

For the last 40 years the Conservatives flatter to deceive when the small print is scrutinised. FFL sincerely hope we are proved wrong. We will now tenaciously press for answers to what’s defined as “waters where we have historically exercised sovereign control” The Conservatives have got it absolutely right, that “When we leave the EU and CFP we will be fully responsible”. Responsibility will revert to Westminster for what is chosen for our waters and what areas of them, the buck stops entirely with MPs and the government. 

The Conservatives better mean all UK waters within our EEZ out to 200 miles, otherwise Brexit, the nation and the opportunity to reclaim all waters, for all fishermen and for all communities has been betrayed. Without all our waters and resources the rest of the fantastic wording of “a new regime….for prosperity for a new generation of fishermen” is meaningless and they have failed on this “acid test”."

See the FFL website for more updates or follow them on Twitter. 

Wonders of Cornwall - A Newlyn Documentary by Jack Edwards

Newlyn, when it is not playing home to the largest fleet of fishing boats in the UK, also provides rich pickings for anyone able to capture the richness and diversity of its visual and living cultural heritage.

Further and higher education students from near and far take advantage of the port for a wide range of reasons - from fisheries students gathering hard data and evidence for their theses, PhD students undertaking anthropological research on how fishermen are making use of social media to media students needing subjects for more creative projects - Newlyn offers them all a rich, diverse and challenging environment in which to immerse themselves for the period of their studies.

Last week, UCL masters student Lamorna Ash spent the final week of her research aboard the port's biggest trawler, Crystal Sea while this week saw nearby Penwith College media student Jack Edwards, son of well-known skipper Shaun 'Wordsy' Edwards, publish his project in the form of a video documentary featuring the port and some the characters who have helped make the place what it is.

Born in Newlyn, Jack is one of those people fully appreciative of just how lucky he is to have been raised as the son of a fishermen within the tight fishing community - hence the title, Wonders of Cornwall.

Rules of the Road

Another visitor, this time the ex-trawler now pot a boat...

someone's pulled the plug on the Jubilee Pool ahead of its grand re-opening...

nearing 7pm and the Scillonian III heads for home...

past a spiky Penzance skyline...

know your Rules of the Road - both vessels underway, one sailboat and the other a power driven vessel - who should give way to who? 

Clue: when is a sailboat not a sailboat?

Project UK Fisheries Improvements - major Seafish project

Project UK Fisheries Improvements (PUKFI) is working towards an environmentally sustainable future for UK fisheries by running Fishery Improvement Projects (FIPs) on six UK fisheries that have been selected by the UK supply chain. They were selected due to their importance for the UK market.

North Sea plaice & lemon sole, demersal trawl, beam trawl & seine

Channel scallops, dredge

Western & Channel monkfish, demersal trawl, beam trawl & gill net

Southwest crab & lobster, pots

Click on the fishery to go to its FIP site.

PUKFI will use the MSC process as a tool to develop credible FIPs, giving each fishery the tools to implement changes and to ensure their sustainable future.

Click here to learn more about credible FIPs.

To download a printable leaflet of this information click here

Exciting opportunity to assist on this project!!

There are two Masters project opportunities open for summer 2017.

Click here for the scallop project proposal
Click here for the monkfish project proposal
Click here for more details
Click here for the application form

PUKFI will use the MSC Pre-Assessment process as a gap analysis to determine current status, identify improvements and inform development of an Action Plan designed to ultimately improve the sustainability of the fishery.

The project will implement the Action Plan for each fishery and track progress through the MSC's Bench-Marking and Tracking tool (BMT). Once the individual improvement projects are completed they will be entered into MSC assessment. 

Each FIP has a steering group to inform, guide and implement the work identified. These are made up of industry, fishery managers, scientists, NGOs, retailers and supply chain. They will be chaired and facilitated by MSC. 

A PUKFI Advisory Group made up of project funders will oversee the work of the project. PUKFI is one work-stream of a larger over-arching project, Project UK, currently in development which aims to identify, improve and ultimately certify market-relevant fisheries in the UK. It will use the Project Inshore model of large-scale Pre-Assessments to identify data gaps, best practice and areas for improvement to inform FIP development and set up.

For more information please contact:

Chloe North
UK Fisheries Outreach Officer
Marine Stewardship Council
Email: chloe.north@msc.org
Tel: 020 7246 8914

Claire Pescod
Fisheries Outreach Manager UK & Ireland
Marine Stewardship Council
Email: Claire.pescod@msc.org