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Wednesday, 31 October 2018

Don't miss! Auction in aid of the Fish Mish this Friday at the Old Coastguard, Mousehole.

THE FISHERMEN'S MISSION AUCTION

Friday, 2 November at The Old Coastguard, Mousehole.

Auction
Auction
We’re raising money for the Fishermen’s Mission in Newlyn and you can help. Join us at an auction of the photography of David Penprase and Chris Boulton that currently adorns our walls, an auction in which everything will sell.

For an idea of the what’s on offer, have a look here. We’re also immensely lucky that two of our favourite artists, Penny Rumble and Martin Sadler have each donated a painting to be sold to help us raise more money.

If you can join us to bid, drinks and canapés are from 4pm, with the auction run by Lay’s Auctioneers from 5.30pm. If you can’t make it and would like to leave a sealed bid, email us here for a bidding form.

Free fishing industry magazine Hook & Net talks to skipper Sid porter.

Taking advantage of the latest in online publishing tools, Hook & Net provides the fishing industry with an easily accessible and free monthly journal.  Plenty of images to support a wide range of fishing stories from around the UK, Europe and sometimes beyond, Hook & Line is supported by a range of knowledgeable and experienced writer.

Hook & Net can be accessed simply by downloading the app to your mobile phone or tablet, iPad - Apple or Android it works just as well - and best of all, it's free!


The latest issue carries an excellent example by Quentin Bates in covering popular Padstow skipper, Sid Porter who commands one of Waterdance's big netters, the Karen of Ladram - read on:




‘STICK TO WHAT YOU’RE GOOD AT’

Simon Porter, known to everyone as Sid, skippers netter Karen of Ladram
Known to everyone as Sid, Simon Porter has netting in his blood. Apart from a couple of spells of potting and trawling, he has been fishing with static nets for all of his fishing career. Today he skippers Waterdance’s netter Karen of Ladram, working from the south-west of England to target primarily hake, as well as monk, turbot and other species.

‘I like netting, and you stick to what you’re good at,’ he said, and commented that he came from Padstow in 2007 to work in Newlyn for Drew Davis who owned the CKS, which was acquired by Waterdance in 2010.


Karen of Ladram heading out through the gaps from Newlyn.
The boat was then replaced by longliner Sparkling Line, which was converted to netting. Sparkling Line was then sold to become a crabber and replaced by Karen of Ladram – former pair seiner Boy John.

Simon Porter, known to everyone as Sid, skippers netter Karen of Ladram
‘We’re not changing again. This is the boat I want and this one will see me out,’ he said.

He said that the growth of the hake fishery has been rapid, and at one time couple of boxes of hake for each tier of nets was good fishing.

‘It was when I was steaming home past the Scillies on the CKS that I called Drew to let him know that we had caught 1000 stone (6.35 tonnes) of hake for a trip,’ he recalled.

‘Drew said he had never caught that much in a trip – and since then we’ve seen a thousand stone in tier. This year we were seeing 200 boxes in a a tier,’ he said, commenting that the boat is set up to handle around 300 boxes in a day when fishing is heavy.

‘I try to be a bit sensible about it. We’re geared up for big fishing, with the crew and the deck space, and I know what the boat and the crew are capable of. When fishing is good, you don’t shoot too much gear. But if you’re the first one fishing somewhere, you don’t know. This winter we had 300 box days, but over the last few months it has been quieter. Fishing has been quieter, still good, but more like it used to be,’ he said,’ adding that prices have gone up – but the hake price still isn’t close to what it ought to be.

Karen of Ladram homeward bound.
Unlike the Sparkling Line it replaced, Karen of Ladram has the capacity to carry several sets of gear, eliminating the chore of spooling one set of gear ashore to replace it when switching from hake nets to trammels for monk, and back, and with today’s heavier gear it’s also possible to fish more tide than in the past.

‘We didn’t used to fish the spring tides because it wasn’t worth it. Now there’s that much hake that it is. We only stop when we’re tired,’ he said, as Karen of Ladram and the rest of the netting fleet were tied up for a few days with the spring tides were at their peak.


Predation remains a problem, although there are ways to work around it, keeping to areas where seals are scarcer, and hauling gear to shift it from one place to another to try and lose the seals.

‘If you’re fishing the north areas, you’re doing well if you get to keep 50% of your monk, and I’ve seen everything gone in the past as the seals take a bite from every single fish in the net,’ he said, adding that lice are also a problem on some grounds, but these can also be avoided.

‘You need to time it so that you finish hauling as dark comes in. Anything you haul after dark will have lice, especially hake.’




Follow Karen of Ladram on Twitter

Story by ex-fisherman and crime writer, Quentin Bates.

It's 7am and the Swordfish breakfast bar is busy!


Last of the fish coming off the auction floor this morning...



includes a brace of John Dory...



and it's good to see how some merchants have taken up the opportunity to support those skippers who are promoting their own business...


along with the company that supplies their fishing gear...


how times have changed, with the auction over its time to head for the Swordfish Inn for a spot of breakfast...


or in Roger's case, yet another cup of "f******g tea" as he nears the end of his personal 'austerity' - after he decided, in a rash moment, to do a "dry October" for MacMillan Cancer...


which doesn't escape Cap'n Cod's attention as he can't help but extract the Michael as he passes Roger by...


before joining a table of early morning drinkers...


for a sumptuous cooked breakfast provided by landlord George and his crew...


meanwhile the Tranquiltiy is back in Newlyn to take ice...


as the Ajax leaves for another trip...


and the beamer crew repair their gear...


work is nearing completion on the Resurgam...


and the slip is back in action with Rowse's latest crabber undergoing hull work to fit her new vivier tank...


the new loading bay is taking shape at the end of the market.



Tuesday, 30 October 2018

Mapping the 2017 UK fishing catch

These infographics were produced by Chris Huggins currently working with the UK in a changing Europe team.

As part of our Brexit and fisheries policy project I recently put together an infographic showing where UK vessels catch their fish.
It did a pretty good job of highlighting that vessels from each of the UK’s four nations don’t just stick to that nation’s waters and why common frameworks will need to be given serious consideration in any post-Brexit UK fisheries policy.



A high-resolution PDF version can be downloaded here.

But it’s limited in that it doesn’t give you an immediately clear sense of the differences in how much each fleet catches. For example the Scottish fleet catches much more than the fleets in the other UK nations, but it’s not overly clear from the infographic how much more as it only really highlights where fish is caught.
I came across the idea of using a dot density map, so decided to give that a go.

The result



A high-resolution PDF version can be downloaded here.

How was it done?

I took a lot of inspiration from Alasdair Rae’s recent AIS tracking maps - he ended up with a really informative but stylish set of maps detailing marine traffic around the UK.
Data on the location of the UK’s 2017 fishing catch was made available by Marine Management Organisation in its recent 2017 annual fisheries statistics report(well worth a read!). This is reported in ICES statistical rectangles - grids of 0.5 degrees latitude and 1 degree longitude. I then summarised the data and calulated the number of points needed in each ICES rectangle for each of the UK nations, with each point represnting ten tonnes of fish. These points were then randomly plotted within each rectangle to represent the density of the catch.
I did all of this in R, which really pushed my limited skills to the limit. But it did allow me to learn a few new tricks, especially for manipulating the spatial data. For those into that sort of thing you can see my (not so elegant) code on GitHub.

Data sources

The data on fishing catch by ICES rectangle comes from the Marine Management Organisation. They publish a range of great statistics on fisheries - their annual sea fisheries statistics publication is well worth a read if you want to get an overview of fisheries.
The ICES statistical rectangles come from the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea.
To crop the rectangles along the coastline and to show land in the map itself I used the land polygons file from the Natural Earth website.
The bathymetry was downloaded from the NOAA within R using the marmap package.

UK Commercial Fishing - In the event of a 'no-deal Brexit'!

A scenario in which the UK leaves the EU without agreement (a ‘no deal’ scenario) remains unlikely given the mutual interests of the UK and the EU in securing a negotiated outcome.

Looking out for UK fishermen

Negotiations are progressing well and both we and the EU continue to work hard to seek a positive deal. However, it’s our duty as a responsible government to prepare for all eventualities, including ‘no deal’, until we can be certain of the outcome of those negotiations.

For two years, the government has been implementing a significant programme of work to ensure the UK will be ready from day 1 in all scenarios, including a potential ‘no deal’ outcome in March 2019.

It has always been the case that as we get nearer to March 2019, preparations for a no deal scenario would have to be accelerated. Such an acceleration does not reflect an increased likelihood of a ‘no deal’ outcome. Rather it is about ensuring our plans are in place in the unlikely scenario that they need to be relied upon.

This series of technical notices sets out information to allow businesses and citizens to understand what they would need to do in a ‘no deal’ scenario, so they can make informed plans and preparations.

This guidance is part of that series.

Also included is an overarching framing notice explaining the government’s overarching approach to preparing the UK for this outcome in order to minimise disruption and ensure a smooth and orderly exit in all scenarios.

We are working with the devolved administrations on technical notices and we will continue to do so as plans develop.

Purpose

This notice sets out how the commercial fishing industry (the commercial catching of fish, as well as the marketing of fish and seafood) would be affected if the UK leaves the EU without a deal in March 2019.

Before 29 March 2019

The commercial catching of fish and marketing of fish and seafood, including the farming of fish, crustaceans, molluscs, aquatic plants and algae (aquaculture), is regulated by the European Union’s Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). The European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) provides money, including industry grants, to member states for certain fisheries activities.

After March 2019 if there’s no deal

When we leave the EU, the UK will formally leave the CFP and introduce our own fisheries policies. The government’s White Paper, Sustainable Fisheries for Future Generations, published on 4 July 2018, sets out a clear direction for a sustainable and profitable fishing industry. The White Paper also states the government’s intention to move away from the “relative stability” towards a fairer and more scientific method for quota allocation, regardless of exit scenario.

The EU Withdrawal Act 2018 will ensure EU law is transferred into UK law and continues to have effect so that we have a functioning statute book from the day we leave. Defra, together with the Devolved Administrations, is currently preparing secondary legislation (under the Withdrawal Act) to ensure the law works in the UK after we leave.

The UK will assume the rights and obligations of an independent coastal state under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) relating to our territorial waters (out to 12 nautical miles) and Exclusive Economic Zone (out to 200 nautical miles or the median line with other states). We will be responsible for managing natural marine resources in these areas, and be able to control and manage access to fish in UK waters. We will meet our international obligations under UNCLOS to cooperate with other coastal states over the management of shared stocks. We will ensure that appropriate fisheries control and enforcement measures continue.

Access to waters


  • Access to fish in UK waters: While non-UK-registered vessels will no longer enjoy automatic access to UK waters (subject to any existing agreements relating to territorial waters), there will be no change to the rights and responsibilities of UK-registered vessels fishing in UK waters. They must continue to abide by the relevant legislation and licence conditions, including the economic link criteria.
  • Access to fish in EU and third country waters: There will be no automatic access for UK-registered vessels to fish in EU or third country waters (subject to any existing agreements relating to territorial waters).
  • Fishing opportunities for UK vessels in UK waters: UK Fisheries Administrations will tell UK quota holders what their quota allocation will be. The government will also confirm arrangements for those who fish for non-quota shellfish (scallops and edible/spider crabs) and demersal species under the Western Waters effort regime. UK Fisheries Administrations inform quota holders of their allocations in March each year and will seek to do so in 2019 to minimise disruption to fishing and allow fishermen to plan for the year. There will be no automatic access to exchanging fishing opportunities with EU member states, and no automatic access for EU member states to exchange fishing opportunities with the UK.


Access to ports

UK-registered vessels landing into EU and third country ports
UK-registered vessels will no longer have an automatic right to land fish in any EU port. Access will be permitted to EU designated ports for port services, landings, transhipment and the use of market facilities where vessels meet EU requirements governing illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. UK-registered vessels will have to notify their intention to visit an EU designated port and present information relating to the vessel and catch on board. UK vessels may be subject to inspection: this could include a full document check, inspection of the catch and, where information has been provided electronically, database checks.

Access to EU and third country ports by UK-registered vessels will be permitted without prior notice in cases of distress or force majeure.

In anticipation of our joining the North-East Atlantic Fisheries Commission (NEAFC), UK-registered vessels wishing to continue fishing in the NEAFC Convention Area and landing into the EU will have to complete Port State Control 1 forms, available on the NEAFC website.

EU and third country vessels landing into UK ports

Access to UK ports for non-UK vessels, including EU vessels, will be subject to equivalent requirements to those outlined above. They will be required to provide notice of the intention to land into a designated port in the UK, except in cases of distress and force majeure.

EU vessels fishing in the NEAFC Convention Area and landing into the UK would need to complete a Port State Control 1 form.

Regional fisheries management organisations (RFMOs)

The UK will no longer be a member of RFMOs through EU membership. As an independent coastal state, we will join all relevant RFMOs as quickly as possible.

The process of joining RFMOs and ratifying their conventions may take up to 6 months: there may, therefore, be a short gap in our membership. During this time, UK vessels may not be able to fish in international waters covered by RFMOs.

European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF)

The UK government has guaranteed that in a ‘no deal’ scenario all structural and investment fund projects, including EMFF projects, approved before 31 December 2020 will be fully funded.

Labelling and marketing of fishery and aquaculture products

All common marketing standards for fish sold for human consumption - whether in the UK or the EU - will remain the same, including those governing quality, size, weight, packing, presentation or labelling and minimum marketing sizes. All labelling requirements for fish and aquaculture products for onward sale in the UK or EU will also remain the same (whether they were whole, filleted, or processed). This will include the requirement to show on labels the name of the fish, the date and method of its capture (fishing gear or farming method), whether it was wild or farmed, defrosted or fresh.

The responsibilities of Producer Organisations to promote sustainable fishing activities, market members’ products, build relationships with the supply chain, and where appropriate, manage quota, will remain unchanged.

Import and export of fishery products

Trade in fishery products obtained from illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing will remain prohibited. Most fish and fish products will require a catch certificate for import or export between the UK and EU. A catch certificate is not required for trade in some aquaculture products, freshwater fish, some molluscs, fish fry or larvae. Specific additional measures relevant to the import and export of fishery products from and to the EU are listed below:


  • Exports of UK-caught fish and fishery products to the EU: The EU will require exporters to issue a catch certificate with each consignment of fish or fishery products exported to the EU. It will be the responsibility of the exporter to complete a catch certificate. If the consignment were sourced from more than one UK vessel, a Multiple Vessel Schedule would need to be completed and submitted alongside the catch certificate. Vessel owners or skippers making direct landings of UK vessels into EU ports will also need to issue a catch certificate. The content of a catch certificate will need to be verified by the UK fisheries authority where the vessel is licensed before being submitted to the competent authority in the EU country of import. The UK fisheries authorities are the Marine Management Organisation in England, Marine Scotland, the Department of Agriculture, the Environment and Rural Affairs in Northern Ireland and the Welsh Government. The UK fisheries authorities are developing an IT system to facilitate the increase in export catch certificates.
  • Imports of EU-caught fish and fishery products to the UK: Each consignment or direct landing of fish or fishery products imported into the UK from the EU will require a catch certificate. The exporters will have to submit the certificate to the Port Health Authorities or relevant fisheries authority to be checked at least three working days before the estimated arrival time into the UK. This deadline could be adapted to take into account the type of fishery or distance from fishing ground to port, for example.
  • Eels and eel products: Trade in the European eel (Anguilla anguilla), within and outside the EU, will remain subject to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) and allowed only where it is shown not to be detrimental to the wild population. As there is currently no non-detriment finding for the population, the UK will not be able to import or export European eel. Most of the eel (Anguilla japonica) consumed in the UK is imported from China and so the impact on consumers should be limited.


Anyone importing or exporting fish or fishery products should also reference the relevant technical notices relating to the import and export of animal products.

More information

The European Commission maintains a list of designated ports for third country landings on its website. Further information on access to EU ports and the laws on Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing can be found in Regulation (EC) No 1005/2008, Chapter II, Section I.

You should also refer to guidance on catch certificates and advice on food labelling. Importers and exporters of fish and fishery products should also refer to other relevant technical notices.

This notice is meant for guidance only. You should consider whether you need separate professional advice before making specific preparations.

It is part of the government’s ongoing programme of planning for all possible outcomes. We expect to negotiate a successful deal with the EU.

The UK government is clear that in this scenario we must respect our unique relationship with Ireland, with whom we share a land border and who are co-signatories of the Belfast Agreement. The UK government has consistently placed upholding the Agreement and its successors at the heart of our approach. It enshrines the consent principle on which Northern Ireland’s constitutional status rests. We recognise the basis it has provided for the deep economic and social cooperation on the island of Ireland. This includes North-South cooperation between Northern Ireland and Ireland, which we’re committed to protecting in line with the letter and spirit of Strand two of the Agreement.

The Irish government have indicated they would need to discuss arrangements in the event of no deal with the European Commission and EU member states. The UK would stand ready in this scenario to engage constructively to meet our commitments and act in the best interests of the people of Northern Ireland, recognising the very significant challenges that the lack of a UK-EU legal agreement would pose in this unique and highly sensitive context.

It remains, though, the responsibility of the UK government, as the sovereign government in Northern Ireland, to continue preparations for the full range of potential outcomes, including no deal. As we do, and as decisions are made, we’ll take full account of the unique circumstances of Northern Ireland.

Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein are party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area and participate in other EU arrangements. As such, in many areas, these countries adopt EU rules. Where this is the case, these technical notices may also apply to them, and EEA businesses and citizens should consider whether they need to take any steps to prepare for a ‘no deal’ scenario.

Facts and figures on the common fisheries policy 2018 edition.



The European Union has agreed that, by 2020 at the latest, all fish stocks should be exploited at sustainable levels. In practice this means taking the highest possible amount of catches from the sea without affecting the long-term productivity of the stocks. This is known as the maximum sustainable yield (MSY). 

In the North-East Atlantic and adjacent waters (North Sea, Baltic Sea, Skagerrak, Kattegat, West of Scotland Sea, Irish Sea and Celtic Sea), EU fisheries ministers set overall catch limits based on scientific advice. These total allowable catches (TACs) are then divided into national quotas, which set limits on the amount of fish that can be caught.

Monday, 29 October 2018

Kudos to our Search & Rescue crews who are there when we need them most.





Incredible footage captured this morning as a HM Coastguard winchman boards a heaving fishing boat in rough seas to rescue an unwell crewman.

HM Coastguard received the call for help this morning just after 7.30am reporting an unwell crewman onboard the vessel, 50nm south east of Sumburgh, who needed urgent assistance.

The HM Coastguard search and rescue helicopter based at Sumburgh flew to the vessel and on arrival it took several minutes for the winchman to land as the seas rocked the vessel from side to side.

Once onboard the winchman quickly winches the crewman into the helicopter where he was taken to Lerwick for onward transfer to hospital by the ambulance service.