For all of those interested in getting the low-down on what is proving the most controversial fishing issue of the day (providing some with a suitable distraction from the LO debate) here is the ICES paper on pulse fishing.
This paper focuses on the transition in the Dutch cutter fleet-targeting flatfish, from the conventional beam trawl to the pulse trawl fishing gear. In doing so, we explore the process of gear transition, presenting the challenges that fishers and policy-makers face. The pulse trawl technique represents a particularly controversial gear transition as it makes use of electricity, which has been banned by the European Union since 1988. However, it is seen by those developing it in the Netherlands as an important alternative fishing gear to the conventional beam trawl technique, which is becoming increasingly inefficient with rising fuel prices and well-documented impact on benthic habitats. By using a multi-level perspective on socio-technical transitions as the analytical framework, we explore the development of the pulse trawl and the interaction between different levels. We also discuss the influence of technology-push on its transition into practice and regulation. This paper demonstrates the importance of social dimensions in the adoption of new fishing gears and in doing so contributes to our knowledge on how technological transitions in fisheries can be managed.
1800 kg of bass worth around £21000 accidentally caught off Plymouth yesterday - all of which were dumped, largely dead, back into the sea as the boat has no quota for bass.
As soon as Steve Fisher posted this short video showing the 1800 kg of bass that the boat caught accidentally off Plymouth - to highlight the inadequacies of the present system to manage bass - his Twitter account was hit by a storm of tweets in response - some decrying the a quioat systemn based on flawed science and some juast plain not understanding that a fishing boat is limited in its ability to determine what it will catch in open waters. Judge the responses for yourself:
Having to dump all this beautiful bass because EU says so can't wait to get out of CFP pic.twitter.com/N0UxPse2hD
On 9 January 70 representatives from the fishing industry including fishermen, fish producers, policy makers and funders, attended an event at Fishmongers’ Hall organised by Seafarers UK and hosted by The Fishmongers’ Company. They were there to discuss the interim findings from a major new piece of research compiled by Cornwall Rural Community Charity and Rose Regeneration. The ‘Fishing for a Future’ research is based on an analysis of 41 fishing ports around the UK. It involved an extensive survey of fishermen’s own views on the key issues impacting their lives as well as a survey of 70 health service providers in fishing communities. Many areas of need were identified, including: a lack of funding for simple port infrastructure and equipment; low workforce recruitment and retention; poor health amongst fishermen, with most suffering from a disability or long-term health problem; many fishing families facing financial difficulties, and the knock-on effects of a limited access to quota for the stability of fishermen’s personal circumstances.
1800 kg of bass accidentally caught by an inshore trawler on the day of the conference - value approx £21,000 - about to be thrown back overboard!
The ‘UK Fishing Forum 2018’ invited guests to quiz the report’s authors and other experts (see list below). Dave Cuthbert of the New Under 10m Fishermen’s Association, a panellist, said: ‘It isn’t fun to throw fish overboard and watch them drift away when you have a mortgage to pay. It exemplifies a broken system and highlights that small scale fishermen are hemmed in by regulation’. Griffin Carpenter, Senior Researcher at the New Economics Foundation felt that: ‘Fishing has been left out of the political system. Fishermen need coherent structures to give them a voice.’ The report also highlighted those areas of potential opportunity for pro-active work in tackling the need and challenges identified in the research, these being: the use of credit unions, money advice and pensions; training in numeracy, literacy and core skills; greater analysis and understanding of migrant workers; building upgrades and small harbour infrastructure; better health outreach; business development support; better workforce recruitment and retention, and the use of animateurs to help fishermen reach their full potential. Barry Bryant, chair of the Forum and Director General of Seafarers UK, commented: ‘This work is timely in shining a light on a little understood community of resilient and resourceful fishermen who have often missed out on “one size fits all” social and economic interventions. The aim is that this research will provide an agenda for future action, and we hope that by fishermen, charities, support bodies and Government working together, we can make a significant and sustainable impact at this time of change for the UK fishing community that is such an important and financially viable part of our Island Nation.’ UK fishing sector facts highlighted in the report:
Fishing and fish processing employ 22,000 people within the UK total of 28.5 million jobs
The overall impact of the UK fishing sector is worth £1.14 billion
In 2015 around 12,000 people were directly employed in fishing (in 1987 the figure was approaching 25,000)
Over 20% of all those working directly as fishermen are non-EU workers
12,000 fishing jobs support at least a further 4,000 jobs in the wider economy, as well as their own extended families
£552 million value of landings contributes that amount again in wider added value; making the overall impact of the UK fishing sector worth £1.14 billion.
Speakers and panellists at ‘Fishing Forum 2018’:
Ivan Annibal, Managing Director, Rose Regeneration
Griffin Carpenter, Senior Researcher, New Economics Foundation
Hazel Curtis, Chief Economist, Seafish
Dave Cuthbert, Co-Chairman, NUTFA (New Under 10m Fishermen’s Association)
David Dickins, Chief Executive, Fishermen’s Mission
Robert Greenwood, Safety Officer, National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations
Andrew Pascoe, Fisherman (over 10 metres)
Jerry Percy, Executive Director, LIFE (Low Impact Fishers of Europe) and Chairman, Coastal Producer Organisation
Rob Poole, Rural Economist, Cornwall Rural Community Charity
Simon Potten, Head of Safety, Training & Services, Seafish
Chris Ranford, Fisheries Communities Animateur, Cornwall Rural Community Charity
Dr Rachel Turner, Lecturer in Environmental Social Science, Exeter University
Lysanne Wilson, Health Development Officer, Seafarers Hospital Society.
The interim ‘Fishing for a Future’ report is available to download at: http://bit.ly/2DbfdYj. The final report, due to be published in late Spring, will be informed by both the Forum’s discussions and any additional feedback on the interim findings from the full spectrum of the fishing community. Feedback and input on the interim research is invited, by email to fishingforum@seafarers.uk, phone 020 7932 5965, or write to Fishing Forum, Seafarers UK, 8 Hatherley Street, London, SW1P 2QT.
hake form the netters is back on the auction floor...
close-up of a hake's breathing apparatus...
the beamer, Twilight III picked up a few big flats like these turbot...
and brill...
along with a few rays...
and a good shot of late-season cuttles...
making their impact felt on the market floor...
with rivers of sepia ink carefully negotiated by young Colin who had only just cleaned his boots not expecting any more black gold to be landed in any quantity on the market again until the winter...
auctioneer Ian works his way through the big white fish from the netters...
which included this huge 8+ kilo hake...
there were also a few line caught bass on the market...
and the odd mixed box of inshore fish...
and a good shot of inshore trawl fish form the Imogen III...
which included this happy conger...
mackerel...
red mullet...
lemon sole...
monk...
haddock...
and Dover sole where all up for auction...
as the buyers worked their way around the market floor...
the fish are taken off as soon as they are sold...
just some of the boats that went through the grading machine this morning...
big white fish...
and more popular pouts...
but none beat bass for price per kilo...
the fridge was full of St Ives Bay hand line mackerel again...
those spots are a giveaway for flatfish...
there's two sides to every story, and flat fish too...
cuttles even leave their mark outside the market - but at £4.50 a kilo nobody is complaining!
All-expenses-paid training opportunity for the fishing industry leaders of the future.
Fishing into the Future – a South West-based UK charity for sustainable fishing – invites the fishermen of the future to attend its ground-breaking training programme: an Introduction to Sustainable Fishing. Run for the very first time, this event will be held at Dartington Hall on the 6th – 8th March 2018, and the charity is looking for interested and inspired fishermen to participate.
Alan Steer – Chairman of Fishing into the Future, stalwart Devon shell-fisherman and strong advocate for sustainable fishing – has been involved in the design of the training programme: "I've been a fishermen all my life and I'm passionate about the future of my industry. I think it is essential that fishermen have the knowledge and tools they need to communicate with scientists and policy-makers so that we can build trust and understanding in all sectors, leading to much better fisheries management . I am proud to be Chairman of Fishing into the Future, and to be seeing this ambition become a reality."
This industry-backed training programme is free to attend, and represents an opportunity for inshore fishermen from southern England to explore the processes of fisheries science and management in detail, away from the pressures of fishing. Participants will have the chance to rub shoulders with leading scientists and managers responsible for much of the regulation of their fisheries. An open and informal structure, with the needs of industry front and centre, will provide plenty of opportunity for fishermen to quiz presenters – and, similarly, policy-makers and scientists will be afforded the change to learn about the inner-workings of the fishing industry from a front-line perspective.
Fishing into the Future is developing its Fisheries Resource Education Programme in response to the growing complexity of the fishing industry and its resulting needs. Its ‘sister’ course – the Business of Fishing - was run in Scotland in June 2017, to wide acclaim. Commenting on the course, Mike Park, Chief Executive of the Scottish White Fish Producer’s Association said: “Fishermen of tomorrow will require a wider understanding of the husbandry and stewardship of our fish stocks and wider marine ecosystems. This course provides a great foundation in the key components of fisheries science and management.”
Fishing into the Future is now looking for up to 30 fishermen from inshore fisheries in the south and south west of the UK to participate in this new element to our training programme. Those who apply can expect to explore fisheries science and management from the inside – through a combination of hands-on activities, lectures and debates. A panel of special guests from around the UK will also be on hand to answer questions and contribute to the process.
Mark Robertson, Skipper of the Zenith and a graduate from the first Business of Fishing course, is now a trustee of Fishing into the Future. Training for the fishermen of the future is a subject dear to his heart, he said “In the 34 years I’ve been a fisherman, we’ve never been taught how fisheries are managed, and how science interacts with the fishing. I’ve been waiting a long time for a course like this to come along, and it will make a real difference to the next generation of fishermen.”
Jim Masters, Executive Director of Fishing into the Future, underlined how important new, well-informed, champions for a sustainable fishing industry are, saying “In these uncertain times, whatever the shape of our fisheries in a post-Brexit world, we hope that through training courses like this we can help build a confident, professionalised industry where fishermen play a central and vital role in the measurement and management of their fisheries, building a sustainable and prosperous industry from the bottom-up.”
If you wish to apply to participate in the training programme, please contact Fishing into the Future directly, or apply online at www.fishingintothefuture.co.uk/training
