The green sheds of Newlyn are gone - the end of an era.

For as long as many in Newlyn can remember newspapers, magazines, sweets, cigarettes and tobacco even toys and, of course, a weekly copy of the Fishing News were all provided by Dave Barron from his green shed - in later years, the shop was a barometer for monies being raised for Newlyn Harbour Lights - but not more.

David Barron, the 71-year-old grandson of Joe Barron who set up J Barron and Son’s newsagent in 1920, retired on Sunday, March 26, last year and has been sorely missed by his loyal customers ever since.

The family business had been rooted firmly in the community for almost a century, based in the renowned green hut on the Strand. The vacant hut was demolished on Wednesday (February 7) to clear the area for further development, leading to an outcry of nostalgia and sorrow in the community.

Here's Dave Barron telling his story.

The Cornish Fish Producer's Organisation appeals directly to PM Theresa May

The #CFPO (Cornwall Fish Producers Organisation) has sent a direct appeal to Prime Minister Theresa May at a critical moment for #fishing in the #Brexit process. You can read what they had to say to her above. Keep up to date with the CFPO via their new website.

FishyFilaments about to come on stream - they are looking for a Production Manager.

Newlyn definitely stole a match on Penzance when it comes to re-cycling tons of plastic - the fleet have been responsible for recycling mono-filament nylon fishing gear for several years. Now a start-up company called FishyFilaments aim to go into production by turning old fishing nets into the nylon filament needed for 3D printers!

Mono-filament gill net has been recycled for years by Newlyn fishermen.

The man behind a company that aims to turn broken fishing nets into everything plastic and save the environment in the process is ready to build a new factory in Cornwall. Ian Falconer is looking to turn the nylon fishing nets into the raw material that will become fins for surfboards, parts for cars, shoes and even clothes for the fashion industry.

The former Camborne School of Mines student is using his skills and know-how from the mining industry to transform the way fishing fleets in Cornwall dispose of and recycle nets at the end of their useful life by turning them into raw material for the fast-growing 3D printing industry. The former mining industry expert has created a machine and processes to turn fishing nets into spools of the polymer filaments needed in 3D printers.

The increase in plastic wastes found in the marine environment is a global phenomenon that manifests itself on a local scale. Whether they are microbeads washed into the sea from their use in cosmetics, fishing nets snagged on the seabed, microfibres released from clothes when washed or even a tragic outcome of a tsunami, the issue of plastics in our shared oceans is rising on environmental, economic and political agendas.

Fishy Filaments™ doesn’t pretend to address all these issues. Our aim is to provide a win-win solution to fishing communities by taking end-of-life fishing gear and some of the plastics caught during normal fishing activities, then transforming them into commercially viable products that have the potential for a multitude of uses.

Our first product will be a recycled nylon filament for use in 3D printing. Unlike established nylon recycling routes our solution uses simple mechanical and thermal processes that can be achieved at a local scale and with no harsh chemicals added. Our next project is to complete on-going R&D on recycling larger trawl nets made of polyethylene and polypropylene.

We are currently working with Mylor Ventures Ltd, a venture catalyst & angel investor network, and with the support of the Newlyn Pier & Harbour Commissioners to establish our first production unit at Newlyn in Cornwall, UK.

A successful fund raising on Crowdcube has brought in 407 new investors whose funds will take Fishy Filaments into production.

The post of Production Manager has now become available as the company heads towards full-scale filament production.

Mid-week fish market in Newlyn

Strong NE winds swept sleet across the quays this morning...

inside the fish market was a good deal warmer...

no rays of sunshine though, just these big blondes from a good shot landed by Plugger with the Shiralee...

while the Lamorna hit on a goof run of wreck pollack...

and at this time of year the fish ar beginning to be full of roe...

the beam trawler Resurgam was in the red...

while Edwin kept an eye on a handful of boxes of sardines form their main boat, Pelagic Marksman...

these 'feet' were made for walking, the underbelly of a small gurnard...

it's like this, says auctioneer Ian...

bass are best...

one to look up...

prime flatfish, but which one?..

just a smattering of cuttles this morning...

and, on a relatively fish-starved mid-week market, a few inshore Dovers made top dollar...

the snow it snoweth...

all be it briefly...

not the usual close encounter between two boats, but something in the sky over Newlyn this morning...

crabbers sometimes have to be innovative in order to carry the maximum number of post needed when they are to be deployed...

giving the beam trawls an airing aboard the Sa[pphire II...

could be slippery for an hour before the sun comes up...

as the heavy transport arrives from 'up country'...

in Penzance wet dock the Scilly supply boat's replacement, Mali Rose is still indisposed it seems...

while the Scillonian II is midway through her winter refit...

looking out across the bay to the Mount as a heavy snow shower passes overhead...

it won't be too long before the yachts are back floating again.

Navigating Brexit’s choppy waters – with help from big data

LONDON - To investigate whether Britain’s impending departure from the European Union would help or hurt the country’s fishing industry, the Reuters graphics team navigated an ocean of data.

A clear narrative emerged: if Britain were to lose easy access to European markets as part of Brexit, the country’s fishing industry would likely face significant challenges despite retaining its ability to regulate fishing by foreign vessels in its territorial waters.

One of the sets of information used for the team’s latest graphic had more than 80,000 rows of data detailing the amount and species of fish brought into British ports by foreign vessels as well as British fishing vessels landing in the U.K. and abroad. We learned that British fish were sent to Nordic, Dutch and Danish ports, bringing consumers mackerel and herring, much more than European neighbours sent to U.K. ports.

A clear narrative emerged: if Britain were to lose easy access to European markets as part of Brexit, the country’s fishing industry would likely face significant challenges despite retaining its ability to regulate fishing by foreign vessels in its territorial waters.

One of the sets of information used for the team’s latest graphic had more than 80,000 rows of data detailing the amount and species of fish brought into British ports by foreign vessels as well as British fishing vessels landing in the U.K. and abroad. We learned that British fish were sent to Nordic, Dutch and Danish ports, bringing consumers mackerel and herring, much more than European neighbours sent to U.K. ports.

(For an ‘Interactive graphic on Brexit and the fishing industry’) 

The comprehensive and rigorous use of data, the bedrock of any graphics project at Reuters, is critical to reporting on an issue that evokes high emotions in Britain as it prepares to leave the bloc in March 2019.

After weeks of combing through data from the Marine Management Organisation using spreadsheets, Graphics News Editor Michael Ovaska and his team illustrated it in a charting programme called d3.js. They created dozens of graphics to depict flows of fish trading by region and species.

They delved into data obtained from the European Environment Agency and the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea. Data officers at ICES guided them through the organisation’s complex database that tracks the health of fish populations, including anchovies that are being driven into British waters by warming temperatures.

The team then looked for ways to present the data in visually compelling yet easy to understand images and to figure out where the fishing industry was headed using historical data.

To get address these challenges, they focused an interactive graphic on borders, trade and climate change, which could affect the future of the fishing industry. They looked at the maritime borders separating Britain’s waters from neighbouring countries, and they tracked species distribution, including what British and overseas vessels catch and to whom they sell.

All of these elements helped us quantify how climate change was pushing fish stocks north into colder and deeper waters, and they provided a view of Britain’s trading relationships and the effects of trade agreements on the fishing industry.

They also offered insight into potential effects on consumers, showing, for example, that a shift in access to E.U. waters could make it harder to find cod, the main ingredient in fish and chips.

Full story courtesy of Reuters and Mark Hanrahan

Marketing the local catch - Farnet Guide

In 2013, the FARNET seminar, “Marketing the Local Catch”, brought together stakeholders from across Europe to exchange ideas and experience on the marketing of locally caught fish and seafood.

This guide presents some of the options and tools fishermen and other local stakeholders can avail of to improve the marketing of the local catch, with the help of their Fisheries Local Action Group (FLAG). It starts by looking at some of the reasons for, and benefits of, improving the marketing of local fisheries products. It then looks more specifically at the role of FLAGs, and how they can assist in the development of marketing projects. Finally, two innovative ways to improve marketing locally (direct sales, Community Supported Fisheries) are presented, as well as three practical tools that can be used to improve the effectiveness of the marketing strategy: digital tools, experience-based activities and labels and brands.

Watch live as HMS Queen Elizabeth taking on her helicopter fleet form RNAS Culdrose

Watch live as the Newlyn fishing webcam is zoomed in on HMS Queen Elizabeth as she takes on board her fleet of helicopters from RNAS Culdrose.

The ship took its quota of Chinook helicopters last week when she was in Portsmouth. The aim of the trials is to work out the conditions that the aircraft can operate in while at sea on the carrier. They will collect data about the landings, take-offs and manoeuvres in different wind and sea conditions, before processing the information and ultimately declaring that the ship can safely operate the aircraft.

These helicopter trials take place before the fixed wing F35 Lightning II trials later this year. Ultimately the carrier will be declared safe to fly Chinook, Merlin Mk2, Merlin Mk3, Merlin Mk4, Wildcat and Apache attack helicopters, as well as the fast jets.

HMS Queen Elizabeth's 700-strong crew will be further bolstered during the trials by more than 70 people from the ship's permanently assigned Naval Air Squadron, 820 NAS from RNAS Culdrose, with two further operational Merlin helicopters providing force protection.

Helicopters have previously landed on HMS Queen Elizabeth to transfer essential stores and personnel, but not for official flying trials.