Fishing for Christmas stocking fillers for your fishy friends?

If there's one thing the fishing industry is not short of it is creative and original thinking when seeking to overcome seemingly insurmountable problems - like how to reduce discards for pending Landing Obligation! However, at this time of year a more important question is high on the agenda - what to get that special someone for Christmas!

So to help lessen the strain of coming up with ideas, Through the Gaps is happy to present this year's perfect fishy festive gift list:

Starting with some stocking fillers for the kitchen there's a few indispensable culinary kitchen items that are a must for any serious piscatorial player,

Clicking on the image will take you straight to an online supplier!

First up, the de-scaler:

a bargain at £3.06!..

the indispensable filleting knife - if you can get a rosewood handled one so much the better...

the fish kettle for poaching whole fish - a must for lovers of whole Cornish hake, or just lovers...

fish-bone tweezers for pin-boning fish like mackerel or any white fish, a must to stop those bone-hating dinner guests from whinging about your filleting skills...

buy bigger bags of coarse sea salt for creating those amazing baked in salt dishes for fish like bass or whole tub gurnard...

Having all the correct kitchen equipment is one thing so next you need to know what to do with it! So here is a list, and by no means definitive of cookery books from some of the finest fishy chefs who have graced the posts over the years...

First up, the definitive fish cookery book from that ultimate piscatorial gladiator, Sir Keith Floyd - the very man who started the cult of TV Cheffing and put people in touch with the fishermen wh provided the product - no self-respecting kitchen should be without this little gem of a paperback book from Floyd's first BBC TV show, Floyd on Fish - the passion, knowledge and a love of fish pour from every page and every recipe is a simple route to fish-supper heaven...

Next up we couldn't have a book list with contributions form the world's finest fish chef, all-round good egg and adopted Cornish chef, Nathan Outlaw - British Seafood is just one of several books the man with, uniquely for a fish restaurant,  two Michelin stars to his name - quality recipes for quality fish from your local supplier...

Just the other side of the border Mitch Tonks treats customers to his own very personal style of cooking fish - Fish Easy delivers what it says on the cover, or you can't go wrong with Fish which, given his experience from his early days as a fishmonger covers everything you need to know about fish, from preparation through to serving up the dishes therein...

This guy needs no introduction and there are plenty of his books to choose from - his latest serving on fish is another collection of dishes covering all things that live in the sea - but there are books to suit every taste from all around the planet...

Hook, Line & Sinker from Galton Blackston has dishes for the more adventurous fish chef and reflects his years in serving up a wide variety of fish dishes...

Bart's Fish Tales brings you fish dishes from all over - but of special interest to Cornish fish lovers is the section on Cornish Sardines and Cornish hake - with some well-known faces and boats featured - a great book to add to your collection...

Closer to home and if you want to send someone a taste of Cornwall then look no further than our very own Great Cornish Fish Book with dozens of recipes and some fascinating facts about the fishing industry in Cornwall...

While on the subject of fishing there are several books on the subject worthy of a look for anyone with an interest in the history of the industry here in Cornwall and beyond...

written by local St Ives author John McWilliams takes an -in-depth look at the Cornish Fishing Industry - as the name suggests...

or how about that little bit of Cornwall that for over 100 years was at rthe heart of every tidal reading in the world...

next up, Brian Lavery's gripping account of one of the loss of the freezer trawler,  St Finbar off Iceland...

or the amazing story of the Hull steam sailing trawler, Viola which is currently the subject of a massive fundraising project to bring her back to Hull for restoration...

and what better way to support this than an exclusive limited edition gin from Hull distillery Hotham's...

not just the UK's most popular fish supper, cod changed the world -  Mark Kulansky's book tells a story of power, corruption and subterfuge, it's all there and all true...

this time its not fishing but ex-Newlyn fisherman and Fishing News journalist's latest work of fantastic forensic fiction far north of the Uk and set in Iceland - Cold Breath is the fifth in the Gunnhildur mystery series - all torally absorbing and guaranteed to envelope the reader in the cold, dark, chilled idiosyncratic lives of his characters in Iceland...

there are dozens of books on knots - tis one by Falmouth based author Des Pawson - a must gift for any aspiring seafarer and, supplied with a a few feet of suitable cord will provide hours of entertainment over the Christmas break and beyond - do you know your sheet bend from your sheepshank?

Rather than buy books online how about you visit your local bookshop - they can get any book the next day - and in Penzance you don't have to travel to the end of the world for books...

just as far as the Edge of the World Bookshop...

or Barton Books where you can browse bookshelves of beautiful books at your leisure.

Away from books and the kitchen now, for anyone with an artistic or as yet, undiscovered artistic streak - and, with a very personal approach in a Newlyn studio, how about a painting course with Cornwall Painting Holidays based in Newlyn with tutor Tim Hall, a member ofd both the Royal Society of Marine Artists and a BP Portrait Artist of the Year winner?

or how about the best in local workwear from the Smock Shop - smocks make the perfect Xmas gift for your fisherman son, brother of friend or what self-respecting artist wouldn't want a smock to work in?

For a more unusual gift - how about setting someone you know up with a free AIS station from VesselTracker?  All you need is a home near the sea that will take an aerial - the aerial and kit are supplied free ad you get a free Operator's Account to track vessels using AIS.

The Isles of Scilly, West coast of Ireland and Scotland are all places suitable for AIS coverage.

Fully loaded at The Chelsea Fishmonger. pic.twitter.com/8xeHUP1m1u

— TheChelseaFishmonger (@rexgoldsmith) December 6, 2018

Last, but by no means least, don't forget to make this Christmas a festive fish feast time - make your own Gravlax, simple (see Floyd's book), treat yourself to fresh crab, smoked haddock, kippers or langoustine - the possibilities are endless!

2018 Newlyn Harbour Lights switched on!

Welcome to Newlyn...

lucky raffle-ticket winner Milo gets to turn on the lights this year...

as four light-festooned gigs entered into the festive spirit and rowed up and down the harbour...

and the band play on...

until the lights went on and the fireworks began!

Final #FishyFriday of the year!

Thursday evening in Newlyn and it's still blowing hard as storm clouds powered by gale and severe gale force (Force 8 & 9) winds soar over the roof of the fish market now sporting seasonal lighting...

The graph at the foot of the chart provided by VesselTracker AIS also give the speed over the ground made good by a vessel.

after hauling both beam trawls aboard in a Force 9 gale and steaming for nine hours...

the crew of the William Sampson Stevenson are back in the harbour on deck landing at the fish market by 6pm ably assisted by the Wiffer and young Roger...

a distance of just under 40 miles at reduced speed

Rockets keeps the pressure on the landing gear...

as skipper James uses the whipping drum of the man winch to lift the boxes of fish from below...

in the berth ahead, the netter Ajax whose crew spent the last 26 hours on deck without a break hauling a full set of gear in atrocious weather...

Imagine riding through this for 14 hours on your way home from work.

which did not moderate as expected while steaming for over 12 hours on the way in, at one time rolling so heavily the engine room alarms were set off...

now it is just a question of getting the fish off the boat...

and into the market for sorting and grading for the morning market...

the beam trawler Cornishman landed several tons of cuttles...

fish from the WSS waits to be put through the grading machine...

wind the clock on to an hour before day break on Friday morning and the bog fella is preparing the crabber, Three Jays for a day at sea in heavy seas working her pots...

 

inside the market the boxes are stacked up to seven high...

to accommodate the massive 226 box trip of hake from the Ajax...

which left just enough room for the more petite market staff to squeeze through...

though the prices, obviously affected by the extreme nationwide weather, when relayed to skipper Alan on the Ajax came as something of a shock it seems...

with plenty of dogfish on the grounds it is not difficult for boats to meet their 180 stone quota for the month, though this leaves considerable amounts being returned to the sea dead on a daily basis by many boats......

big flats like these turbot...

and brill...

made good money this morning in a strong market leading up to the Christmas break...

plenty of ray from the WSS...

and a handful of bass with all the boats landing...

especially the handliners from St Ives...

and this huge 5.2 kilo specimen caught by the Cornishman...

along with the more usual beam trawl fish of monk tails...

plaice...

     
and morkis (sea dog) or murgies as they are more often pronounced locally...

the Sapphire III scraped up a few unseasonal JDs...

while the James RH managed a good shot of lemons...

Dovers...

and megrims...

the netter Silver Dawn piled in on the pollack...

keeping the market busy...

a perfect day for showing off the range of fish up for auction off to visitors...

meanwhile, Ian moves the buyers past the dogs...

and the fish begin their journeys to the merchants for processing and despatch...

the new RNLI building is taking shape very quickly...

overlooking the pontoon berth for the ever-ready boats.

Steaming for home when the weather is not so good.

At this time of year when the weather has that wintry feel, boats like the Ajax often steam for 12 hours or more in weather like this to bring the catch home to market.  Hake from the Ajax will be ready for auction on Friday morning's market in Newlyn.

When is the next Newlyn Harbour Commissioner's meeting?

Just a quick head's up - tomorrow, Newlyn Harbour Commissioners and the Advisory Board get together for an end-of-year soirée which starts at 5pm just before the Newlyn Harbour Lights celebrations start at 6pm. 

The next proper Harbour Commissioners meeting is now scheduled for January the 17th to which the public WILL be able to attend.

Live from Parliament - Scrutiny of the 2018 Fisheries Bill and the Landing Obligation committee meetings.

Implementation and enforcement of the EU landing obligation

This morning live from the Environment Committee meeting: Implementation and enforcement of the EU landing obligation

10:05

Witness(es): Mr John Tuckett, CEO, Marine Management Organisation Mr Michael Coyle, Head of Compliance and Control, Marine Management Organisation Mr Julian Roberts, Head of Future Fisheries , Marine Management Organisation Mr Allan Gibb, Head of Sea Fisheries Division, Marine Scotland


And running at the same time in another committee room:


The Fisheries Bill receives another reading:

The morning session:

Witnesses: Chris Williams, Senior Programme Manager, New Economics Foundation, Dr Thomas Appleby, representative, Blue Marine Foundation, and Martin Salter, Head of Campaigns, The Angling Trust
Witnesses: Helen McLachlan, representative, Greener UK, Dr Abigail McQuatters-Gollop, Lecturer in Marine Conservation, University of Plymouth

Starting 9:30am there were two panels discussing the #fisheriesbill

Panel 1:
- Chris Williams @NEF
- Dr Thomas Appleby @Bluemarinef
- Martin Salter @AnglingTrust

Panel 2:
- Dr Abigail McQuatters-Gollop @anaturalstate
- Helen McLachlan @wwf_uk

The afternoon session:

Background

The Committee have heard from a range of witnesses, including fishermen, conservation organisations and fisheries researchers, about the EU landing obligation. The obligation, which comes fully into force from January 2019, require fishermen to land all fish they catch rather than discard some back into the sea. The Committee have heard concerns about the impact this will have on fishermen’s livelihoods and about the difficulties there will be in monitoring compliance with the new rules.

Likely areas of questioning

• Is the UK ready and able to fully implement the landing obligation from January?
• What additional resources will be needed to monitor compliance?
• What steps are being taken to protect the fishing industry, and how will this be balanced with the need to protect fish stocks and prevent overfishing?
• What impact will leaving the EU have on implementing the landing obligation?

Witnesses:

George Eustice MP, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Anne Freeman, Deputy Director for Domestic Fisheries and Reform, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Location
Room 5, Palace of Westminster