Welcome to Through the Gaps, the UK fishing industry's most comprehensive information and image resource. Newlyn is England's largest fish market and where over 50 species are regularly landed from handline, trawl, net, ring net and pot vessels including #MSC Certified #Hake, #Cornish Sardine, handlined bass, pollack and mackerel. Art work, graphics and digital fishing industry images available from stock or on commission.
As the Newlyn sardine netter, Lyonesse makes her way out to fish for the night...
it appears that sometimes the supermarkets seem not to know their Scottish salmon from their Cornish sardines - unless there's a new Scottish sardine fishery that we've not heard of before? Editor Footnote: Seems there's more to this than meets the eye - in fact these are not sardines at all but can be called Scottish Sardines because they are not actual sardines as in, Sardina Pilchardus - go figure!
In fact these 'Brisling Sardines' are actually 'spratts' (that's sprats with two ts!) re-badged as Scottish sardines by ethical fish suppliers Fish4Ever - find out more by following the link. As brislings is another name for sprats then you could say they are actually sprat sardines - although just to add to the confusion anther name for brisling or sprats is Russian Sardines! Time to consult the definitive book, North Atlantic Seafood methinks!
TV station, France24 ran a story about British fishermen and Brexit - always helpful to see how other perceive the same story from a different perspective.
"Ninety-six percent of British fishermen voted for Brexit to get their "waters back" and break away from the European Union’s Common Fisheries Policy, which they say has damaged their industry. But with the Brexit deadline looming closer, British and other European fishermen who rely on the fish-rich seas of the British Isles are none the wiser as to how leaving the EU could affect their livelihoods. British fishermen blame the EU's quota system, which sets catch limits per species, for preventing them from earning a decent living. They also want to see fewer boats from other EU countries fishing in Britain’s Economic Exclusive Zone (EEZ), an area defined by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea which stretches 200 nautical miles from the coastline. As long as the UK is in the EU, its EEZ is classed as common waters. But when it comes to the state of fishing post-Brexit, there are quite a few potential problems to anticipate. Overfishing could emerge as a problem if Britain stops adhering to the EU’s quotas, which have helped keep fish resources sustainable. British fishermen currently export 75 percent of their catch, mostly to the EU. If Britain loses free access to its biggest market, its fishermen will have to look elsewhere for buyers. Unfortunately, British consumers are largely uninterested in the cornucopia of species their fishermen catch. Imported cod, salmon and tuna are the most-eaten fish in the UK. ►► The scallop war: Fishermen feud as Brexit looms And with or without Brexit, the livelihoods of small-scale British fishermen are unlikely to improve unless the British government deals with the imbalance in quota ownership. Greenpeace UK has revealed that 29 percent of the UK's fishing quota is owned or controlled by just five families on the Sunday Times' Rich List. Will McCallum, head of oceans at Greenpeace UK, says: "Many of these companies were amongst those touting the opportunity to 'take back control' of our waters by leaving the EU. They're taking politicians and regular fishermen for a ride, because they know exactly who's in control. And the same politicians who slammed Europe for breaking Britain’s fishing sector are the ones restricting the majority of fishing quota to this handful of wealthy families. It’s a betrayal of Britain’s fishermen". As Britain and the EU negotiate a Brexit deal, fishing rights are another sticking point which have so far left fishermen on both sides of the Channel in the dark, unable to plan for their futures. Scott Wharton, a British fisherman, told FRANCE 24: "We’ve got no problem with foreign fishermen, the Belgians, French, Spanish. They’re trying to support their families, the same as us. It’s the policy-makers who need to put things right". http://www.france24.com/en/reporters
There was also a piece on German TV along the same lines - using interviews with British fishermen.
Some four weeks after he began his attempt to land a giant Atlantic bluefin tuna late in the summer of 1933, Tom Laughton finally felt his wooden boat lurch forward as a vast “tunny” took the bait and began a long fight for its life. Mr Laughton, the brother of British film star Charles Laughton, later recalled: “Suddenly there was a terrific pull, the top of the rod shattered… the line ran out at frantic speed. All I could do was keep the point of the rod up. “It took me nearly four hours to bring that fish to the gaff. I was completely exhausted. My arms were done, my back was aching with the strain of the harness.” The hotelier and art collector was from far being alone among the beau monde pursuing what is widely considered one of the world’s finest game fish. Flocking to the same location as Mr Laughton for a spot of fishing were John Wayne and Errol Flynn, alongside British newspaper magnate Lord Astor and Baron Henri de Rothschild, who set sail on his 1,000-ton yacht, Eros. But most surprising of all in this gathering of angling celebrities and plutocrats was the location. Rather than the sultry seas of Florida or the Mediterranean, this hunt for a big beast of the piscatorial world was taking place in the somewhat chillier climes of Scarborough, which for a glorious period was one of the world’s prime destination for the high-end pursuit of Thunnus thynnus. Such was its popularity, that special trains were laid on from London to transport anglers toward their quarry. Trickle of sightings A “tunny” caught in the North Sea off Scarborough in 1933 by an Etonian adventurer called Lorenzo Mitchell Henry retains the record for the largest fish caught in British waters with a rod and line. At the age of 67, he landed a tuna weighing 851lb (386kg) – equivalent to 4,000 cans of fish. The waters off the Yorkshire resort continued to be visited by monied anglers until the species abruptly disappeared in 1954. Sporadic sightings continued in UK coastal waters until the 1990s, after which the bluefin is thought to have disappeared altogether from the British Isles. But now, Thunnus thynuus, which remains officially classified as an endangered species globally, is back in British and Irish waters in significant numbers – and the lucrative game fishing industry it once sustained may not be far behind. A trickle of sightings of bluefin over the past six years has suddenly surged, with regular sightings this year of shoals, containing hundreds of fish at a time, from the Scilly Isles to Scotland and from Wales to the Channel Islands. The government research body in charge of monitoring fish numbers, the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture (Cefas), has revealed that so far in 2018 there have been more than 100 witnessed “feeding events” – frenzied encounters where dozens or even hundreds of tuna at a time rise to the surface to feed on their preferred prey of herring or sprats, producing a so-called “boiling sea”. The sightings, most of which have been off Cornwall and Wales, suggest that thousands of bluefin are now passing through, or are even resident in, the coastal waters of the British Isles. All of which has led to calls that Britain should capitalise on the return of the bluefin – and recapture some of the glamour of the battles off 1930s Scarborough – by once more allowing the tuna to be fished for recreation in British waters. Sustainable management A campaign to do precisely that, based on the premise that all hooked bluefin should be returned to the sea alive, has been launched with the backing of the sport’s representative body, the Angling Trust. Steven Murphy, director of the campaign Bluefin Tuna UK, said: “There is a tremendous opportunity here to harness the return of tuna for not only significant economic benefits, but also in setting a new benchmark for the sustainable management of a recovering species.” As matters stand, a return of game fishing for bluefin would be impossible because the species remains officially endangered globally and, despite the recovering numbers in the Atlantic, Britain has no share of the EU’s annual quota of 16,000 tonnes of tuna, which is currently shared out between commercial boats from France, Spain and Italy. As a result, it is currently illegal for anyone in the UK to set out to fish for bluefin and any of the fish caught and killed as “by-catch” cannot be sold or given away, unless it is for scientific research. But the campaigners claim there is a solid basis for introducing a “catch and return” model whereby anglers would be allowed hook tuna for the sort of “man versus Leviathan” struggles immortalised by Ernest Hemingway, with a legal obligation that the fish is then returned alive whence it came. It is claimed that the mortality rate from such fisheries is less than five per cent. The campaigners also spot an opportunity in Brexit, under which Britain would be able to re-join the international body in charge of tuna quotas – the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) – as a separate state and thereby secure its own share of bluefin without the need for horsetrading with other EU nations. The argument is that with just 0.05 per cent of the current EU quota (equivalent to about 20 tons of tuna), Britain could have a tuna fishing industry based around Cornwall and Wales which would be worth £25,000-£30,000 per fish once the earnings from additional tourism and charter hires are factored in. This compares to the dockside value of £3,000 per dead tuna caught by commercial boats. Economic boost Scott Mann, the Conservative MP for North Cornwall, and a keen angler, said: “It would be a massive boost to our coastal communities if the Government was to take up these proposals.” The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is currently consulting on its sustainable fishing policy and has said it recognises the economic benefits of recreational angling. And yet for all the excitement the sightings are generating among conservationists and anglers, the bluefin remains something of an enigma. Capable of migrating vast distances, including crossing the Atlantic and back again each year, the bluefin’s exact movements, including how long they stay around the UK, are not known to science. As a result, the reasons behind the resurgence are not yet fully understood, along with the question of the tuna population’s sustainability. It is for this reason that scientists from Cefas and the University of Exeter have embarked on a two-year, large-scale tagging project which will minutely track the movements of dozens of tuna caught humanely and fitted with a satellite tracking device. Once they have collected information over 12 months, the tags will detach and upload their data from October next year. The researchers will consider whether factors such as a rise in the bluefin’s preferred prey such as sprats and sardines are behind its return. Premature ideas Dr David Righton, who is heading the project for Cefas, said: “It could be that these fish have attracted tuna back into UK waters, or in a reverse of the decline in tuna after the 1960s, it could be that stocks have recovered a little, and migration patterns are beginning to change again, or that environmental conditions have become more favourable.” Either way, the scientists argue that the long term future of the British bluefin in not yet assured. Dr Matthew Witt, of Exeter University, said: “These are huge, exciting, top predators, yet with an uncertain future.” Environmentalists argue that the introduction of even a limited recreational fishery may be premature. Will McCallum, head of oceans at Greenpeace UK, said: “Any decision to allow fishing for [tuna], or potentially harming it by catching and releasing it, would have to be based on rigorous research regarding the true state of its recovery.” In the meantime, those seeking a return of the epic battles once seen off Scarborough can muse on the case of Harold Hardy, a tunny angler who spent seven hours in the early 1930s battling a bluefin claimed to have been 16ft long. As he was about to land the fish, it succeeded in snapping the line and escaped. Four witnesses described it as “the greatest fight they had ever seen in their lives” Read more at: https://inews.co.uk/news/uk/bluefin-tuna-returns-british-irish-waters-fishing-ban-lifted/
Action required by exporters of fish and animal products to the European Union post-Brexit
Read the letter first: https://seafishapi.fantata.co/index.php/file/4724 Food business operators exporting fish or other products of animal origin (POAO) to the EU have been asked to provide certain information to the Food Standards Agency (FSA) by Wednesday 12 December to ensure that these exports can continue in the event of a ‘no deal’ EU exit.
In a letter to UK-approved food business operators dated 26 November, the FSA indicate that in the event of a no deal Brexit – which they stress they believe is unlikely – the UK would need to apply to be listed by the EU as a ‘third country’ in order to export fish, shellfish and other POAO to the EU. To enable an application to be submitted by Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) on behalf of the UK, producers who export POAO to the EU; who supply products subsequently exported to the EU; or who wish to do so in the near future - must provide certain information to the FSA:
Confirmation that they would like to be included on the list of approval to export POAO into the EU.
Product(s) and volume of material exported to the EU over the last 12 months and the number of consignments dispatched to the EU.
Product(s) and volume of material produced in the last 12 months that is not exported.
Approval number.
Name, address email and telephone number.
This information should be sent to eulistings@food.gov.uk by Wednesday 12 December 2018. Failure to respond by the deadline may mean food business operators having to stop exporting POAO until a future revision of the list can be approved by the EU. For further information contact Ruiseart Doig, EU Listings Project Officer, Food Standards Agency, at eulistings@food.gov.uk
and ice for her next trip, skipper Alan and rest the crew of the Ajax...
are seen off by fellow crew member Gary who suffered a bad case of 'trawlerman's rash' a few weeks ago, now permanently sticking two fingers, well finger and thumb, up to the world...
leaving Matt and the rest of the crew to sail into the New Year...
ahead of them the Ocean Pride is about to take ice...
the netter Charisma showing signs of just how harsh the weather was in December with it blasting off her new company colours on her bows...
next up the Stelissa...
leaves her Christmas berth...
and heads for the iceworks under a still visible moon...
as one of the local angling boats gets away for a spot of wreck fishing on a day with a fine forecast.
