Fishing reports on trawling from Farming Today this week.

 

Radio 4's Farming Today ran a series of reports specifically focussing on various types of trawling in the UK.

Monday: Farming Today starts a week-long look at trawling; how it works, how the industry could be affected by Brexit and what happens now the UK has more control over what happens in its waters. We start the week by speaking to Bryce Stewart, a fisheries biologist and associate professor at the University of York. 

Tuesday: Ahead of his speech at the National Farmers Union Conference - this year hosted virtually - the DEFRA Secretary, George Eustice, answers questions in a wide-ranging interview covering topics from the compensation for seafood businesses effected by export delays to the future of farm payments. And the Marine Management Organisation is consulting on plans to prevent bottom trawling on the Dogger Bank and three other Marine Protected Areas. 

Wednesday: Heather Simons finds out how fish markets have been impacted this year by the COVID pandemic, and by the UK leaving the EU. 

Thursday: A look at how dredging for scallops can be made more sustainable. Plus we discuss what a recent ban on Pulse Trawling might mean for scientific fishing innovation. 

Friday: The owners of a Hull-based trawler, which catches about 1 in 10 of every fish we buy from the chippy, warn they will be forced to stop fishing unless the government sorts out quotas. The Kirkella forms most of the UK’s distant waters fleet - she can take 12 tonnes of fish in one haul and then process and freeze it in an onboard factory. But since Brexit the UK has no fishing deal with Norway, in whose waters The Kirkella fishes. It all used to be negotiated by the EU, now the UK has left, we need our own agreement - which hasn't happened yet. Jane Sandell from UK Fisheries which owns the trawler, says unless that changes, The Kirkella and its 100 crew members are in trouble. She's seeking reassurances from the fisheries minister Victoria Prentis who says there should be a deal in the next couple of weeks.

BBC Farming Today on Sounds.

George Eusrace, less than generous with the truth?

George Eustice was being deceptive on TV. I have read the Fisheries section of the TCA and undepurated shellfish export isn’t mentioned. This omission means the UK would abide by current EU regulations if it isn’t in Exit Legislation.

Eustice claims the EU “said” there wouldn’t be an issue with exports like it was an agreement they had whilst chatting over a pint. And he said they said there are Export Health Certificates which would cover unpurified bivalves. He is either lying or ignorant. The only EHC which covers bivalves specifies they need to be purified or fit for human consumption. There’s no ambiguity on this certificate and no Health Officer would sign an EHC to allow export of my oysters which have not been purified and are therefore not legally safe to eat yet. 

Eustice is being absurd suggesting there was a ‘one size fits all solution’ which Europe ‘said’ was fine This issue is not about public health. It is about industry warning that there would be huge problems if Govt didn’t acknowledge and fix them. Apparent Gentleman’s Agreements isn’t governance. 

There needed to be adequate bio security measures agreed on paper The TCA didn’t cover this issue so quite simply it fell into Third Country rules even though Eustice was warned and now he is blaming others for his apathy and ignorance.

Courtesy of Twitter feed.

Brexit and fishing, seven weeks on.

BBC1's Countryfile ran a short piece by Charlotte Smith who investigated whether Brexit is delivering all it promised for the UK’s fishing industry. 

Julie of Ladram steaming for Newlyn last week.

Among others, she caught up with Sprat aka Mike Smith aboard the Brixham beam trawler Julie of Ladram who featured on Countryfile during the first lockdown. Make up your own mind.

 

Shellfish shambles explained.

Eighth generation oyster fisherman Tom Haward sheds some light on the 'EY shellfish ban' debacle that is affecting producers the length and breadth of the UK, not least for oyster fishing businesses like Fal Oyster and others in the Falmouth and Helford area of Cornwall.

Photo courtesy of Alan Clarke

The phrase, ‘EU shellfish ban,’ keeps being used by news outlets and it’s important to understand how this language is misleading and how Government is deliberately using misinformation to hide from its own failures. As a producer of live animals (oysters) who sells them on for human consumption, there are, quite rightly, rigorous standards we must meet to ensure what we sell is safe for people to eat. One of the most important factors in this process is the issue of water quality. If water quality is really poor (high amounts of sewage or rubbish dumped), animals like oysters will absorb the dangerous bacteria and make them unsafe to harvest.

There are 3 grades of water quality for shellfish production.

Grades, A, B & C. 

These grades were determined through when we were part of the EU. Simply, grade A waters are excellent and you don’t have to purify shellfish from these waters (some of our waters where we grow out oysters are A).

Grade B water means shellfish has to be purified before it can be sold for human consumption; most waters in the UK are B. The purpose of the grades is to ensure we use due diligence in our treatment of shellfish. It’s not a perfect system but it works...

As part of a large multi-country community we were effectively able to sell grade B shellfish unpurified to our neighbours where they would perform the process of purification before selling it on. Ideal if you harvested shellfish but didn’t have a purification centre. At least 2 years ago I noticed (along with others in industry) that if we were no longer part of the EU then as a 3rd country our food standards would no longer align, legally, and we wouldn’t be able to export grade B, unpurified shellfish...

This was raised with government figures as a major concern. It was obviously ignored. We (the UK) helped establish these EU regulations to have a consistent approach for easy, free flowing trade of shellfish. I said a no deal or equivalent would result in this catastrophe if it wasn’t looked at. George Eustace is lying when he says it was a surprise and when it is being peddled as an ‘overnight ban’. When he was fisheries minister he was aware of these worries. If I saw this coming then Johnson, et al should have...

The UK helped write the regulations government are now claiming they have been side swiped by. We are in this mess because those elected to serve us were too lazy and arrogant to read the small print because they wanted adulation without the work.

“YOUR VOICE IN OUR INDUSTRY”

 

Following ever-increasing demand from those in the fishing and seafood coastal communities nationwide a new organisation, the Irish Fishing & Seafood Alliance (I.F.S.A.) has been established.

Already endorsed by some of the country’s largest and most prominent industry groups, IFSA has been formed to, among several other agendas, seek recognition by Government and the Department of Marine that the seafood industry in Ireland requires their urgent intervention to redress the devastating outcome that BREXIT has beset upon the industry.

With the motto of “your voice in our industry”, IFSA is a self-funding, non-profit organisation which is not restrained by any existing regional political divisions, nor is it divided by differing industry sector interests and will be the spokesman for all individuals, vessels, fish companies of all sizes, fish shops, and all ancillary service companies involved in the industry nationwide. This provides a unique platform from which to give ALL interested parties a voice in demanding that our government affords our industry the support we deserve to navigate our way safely through the storm that BREXIT has forced upon our coastal communities. We will provide the opportunity for those who have invested and those who work in this industry to voice their frustration and demand action. Taking the wheel

Those involved in the formation of IFSA unanimously voted for the appointment of well-known industry supporter Cormac Burke to be the Organisation’s Chairman.

An ex-fisherman and later editor of The Irish Skipper, Fishing News, and Fishing News International, Mr Burke is also known as MD of the international fishing industry consultancy and PR firm FishComm Ltd.

In his first public statement as IFSA Chairman, Cormac said that he was honoured to have been chosen for this appointment and is looking forward to the many challenges that lie ahead.

“Coming from a fishing industry background and having spent most of my life involved in the fishing and seafood industry, in one form or another, I’m pleased to now be given this opportunity to serve the industry.

“This sector is made up of decent, hardworking people, many of whom have made heavy private investment in vessels, processing companies and ancillary services. But the biggest majority are simply reliant on this industry for their livelihoods.

“The spiral of decline in our traditional fishing ports will be greatly accelerated if our Government is not prepared to support the decent people that are proud to be part of our industry. The resilience and perseverance of these people has, in the past, helped our country to achieve what it has, against the odds. However, this latest challenge is catastrophic.

. “We cannot and will not accept to be relegated to the ‘poor relation’ of Irish commercial life. We cannot countenance a situation whereby vessels tie up, companies close down and once-thriving coastal towns and villages will face economic collapse.

“Many people in the seafood and fishing sectors believe that the only hope for progress is to unite the industry - a tough task given the challenges of existing regional representation and political restraints on many of the current representative groups - but hopefully IFSA can now be that unrestricted voice that the industry so badly needs,” he said.

Full contact details, website, social media etc will be made available in the coming weeks.

You can help save, 'This Fishing Life' in Cadgwith.

The penultimate episode of BBC2's This Fishing Life episode 5 featured the fishermen and fishing community of Cadgwith, the UK's southernmost fishing village at the foot of the Lizard peninsula facing directly into the heavy Atlantic winter swells. Boats are launched and retrieved up the beach as the cove's fishermen have done, for centuries. 

Pounding seas on the shingle, Cornish gig rowing competitions, singers huddled round huge real fires in the Cadgwith Cove Inn; fishing life and the sea pervade every twist and turn of the cove's well-worn cobbles and is the very essence of what makes it such a unique place to visit. 

Home to innovative fishermen artists like Simon Bradley and Nigel Legge it's a plein air artist's dream location, Likely Lads star, Rodney Bewes made it his home for years and local characters like fisherman Martin Ellis who featured in Mark Jenkin's award winning film Bait (which the Guardian described as a, 'defining film of the decade') on the very subject of second home developmen all make this fishing community the genuine article in an age of faux aged-paint finishes and fabricated history. 

It would be no exaggeration to say that if the fishing community of Cadgwith lost all three buildings to second home developers then the very lifeblood of the village would rapidly ebb away on the next tide.

And then, there's actual fish! In 2012, Cadgwith was the subject of Monty Don's 'Fishermen's Apprentice' when the presenter made an admiral attempt to make a living as a share fisherman - this clip exemplifies the incredibly important role these small fishing communities and fishermen like Danny Phillips provide - it is simple enough, they land the very highest quality fish- much of which you can buy in the cove!

What's the big issue? There are three old buildings in Cadgwith Cove that are used by the fishermen to store their gear and process their catch. They also house a very popular art gallery and two shops selling fresh fish.

Cadgwith Cove Fishing Trust Crowdfunder

"We are the Cadgwith Cove Fishing Trust, and we are a charitable trust whose objects are the improvement maintenance and protection of the historic communal fishing facilities in Cadgwith Cove in the parish of Grade Ruan.

We aim to purchase the historic fishing buildings to protect them from development and maintain for the local fishermen in perpetuity. Once we have raised the £300,000 required to purchase the historic fishing buildings, any excess will be used to renovate and repair the buildings, provide an even better environment for the local fishermen to work in.

We would also like to provide some public access with exhibits showing the history of the buildings and the trial and tribulations of the fishermen who have worked there over many centuries, and made it the vibrant community we enjoy today.

We are trying to put together the funding to buy all three buildings to keep them safe from the ever-present threat of development, which here would mean conversion into yet more second homes and holiday lets.

Cadgwith is visited each year by thousands of holidaymakers. If our fishing activity ever came to an end, the tourism industry would shrink and many local residents would lose their main source of income. The fishermen are at the heart of our strong sense of community and we are doing whatever we can to support them.

Our master plan is for the local parish council to take the freeholds of the buildings in order that they may be held in perpetuity for the fishermen and then for our not-for-profit charitable trust to look after the day-to-day management of them. There will be covenants requiring the buildings to be used by fishermen as long as they are so needed and preventing them from being sold for anyone's private gain. The parish council will still exist in fifty or one hundred years time and will use the buildings for other community purposes if there was no more fishing out of the cove. There can be no element of subsidising the fishermen. They will pay an economic rent, enough to cover all expenses of maintenance and repairs.

We are already well into realising the plan. The council is raising a loan to buy one of the buildings and there is widespread support from parishioners even though the loan repayments may cause a small increase in their local council tax.

For the other two buildings, we have had professional surveys and valuations that tell us we need to find £300,000 to buy and repair them.

This crowdfunding project will hopefully be large enough to form an essential component of that funding.

If you are able to help us, we and the fishermen of Cadgwith will be very grateful for your assistance."

Cadgwith Cove Fishing Trust 

The object of our trust is protection improvement and maintenance of the historic fishing community buildings in Cadgwith Cove in Cornwall.

A hard-won trip for skipper and crew of the god ship Enterprise.

Looks like the Unity won't be gong anywhere for a day or two...

first time visit for the visiting Brixham based Joy of Ladram skippered by local skipper Nathan Marshall...

she is an older version of the lates beam trawler to join the Newlyn fleet, Enterprise...

there's only a handful of netters and crabbers left in the port after the last eight days of appalling weather...

which skipper Billy Worth described as some of the worst prolonged poor weather he has fished through...

so the boys are doubly happy to set up the landing ear...

don the remote gilson controller which involves some light footwork from the skipper...

watched over by Nathan aboard the Joy of Ladram...

landing eight boxes at a time...

it doesn't take long...

for brothers Ian and 'Little' Graham...

to bring 280 boxes ashore ready for tomorrow's auction.