Fish of the day - Week 4 - Gilt-head Bream

Years ago, mention of bream in the company of fishermen would have likely to think you were referring to the act of cleaning off tar, by the application of heat,  from your boat. Tar was used for hundreds of years before paint to protect and preserve the wooden planks of fishing vessels - Ripple, the restored lugger in Newlyn still uses this method as a nod to her history - much to the chagrin of a few unaware yachties over the years who have left their once pristine white boast moored alongside her in the summer!

Bream, or in this case, a gilt-head bream landed by trawlers and netters working offshore. They are seldom landed by handliners working close to the shore. They look stunning, even more so when cooked and served whole on a plate as in the recipe below from Nathan Outlaw's British Seafood cook book.  Despite the delicate flesh, bream have a thick, scale covered skin that really lends itself to being cooked over charcoal in the summer BBQ season or baked whole in a hot oven - easy enough to 'carve' the fish at the table as it has big ones that make filleting easy. Like any fish, if you don't fancy dealing with the bones get your monger to fillet your fish and change the recipe accordingly!

As Britain's only 2-star Michelin fish chef says, you can get farmed bream - but here in Newlyn...

bream, be it gilt-head...

black, red...

or Couch's bream they all make fabulous eating - if you asked Keith Floyd for the colour of his choice he would opt for red - but then he would wouldn't he!

The most abhorrent occupation in the world?

 

Magnus Johnson, a marine scientist at the University of Hull, published this observation on his blog almost a decade ago, as many readers with good memories may recall – but it remains just as pertinent today. It is reprinted here with a new introduction, in which he reflects on how little has changed in the intervening decade.

"Almost 10 years ago, I published this article on my blog (marine-biology.net). It was at a time when it felt like fishing was being vilified through a co-ordinated effort by the NGO industry.

The only image of a fisherman that conservationists appeared to be willing to accept was a Captain Birdseye type: a bearded, wrinkly, sou’wester-clothed man battling against the sea in his little wooden boat, hand-hauling lines and nets to catch a few fish. The idea that fishing, like farming, is a primary industry that seeks to feed people and sustain local communities is an anathema to many of these conservation businesses.

In recent times I’ve thought ‘here we go again’ as I read complete untruths about North Sea cod being fished to extinction, the theft of the commons by the industrialisation of the sea as wind farms march across it, and clamour for generic exclusion of fishers from traditional grounds in Scottish waters by NGOs.

These NGOs are incredibly well funded and because they are opinion holders, rather than stakeholders, do not feel the pain caused to local communities by loss of real jobs and the ongoing gentrification of rural coastal towns.

The power of NGOs is huge and the fishing industry is up against Brandolini’s law (the fact that it takes 10 times as much effort to refute BS as it does to produce it in the first place). It’s really important that the industry support their representative organisations – at local and national scales. They are the people quietly and constantly working away on behalf of the industry to keep those in power properly informed.

Now, imagine you have a business…

 

You’re not breaking any laws and it’s something your family have been doing for hundreds of years. Your whole community has been doing it and whole cultures, traditions, music, stories and clothes have evolved around it. Industries have thrived on your products. Your product is gluten-free, contains no additives, has a low carbon cost, doesn’t involve ploughing and transforming the land, and gives us beautiful food that kings and commoners alike adore.

Your industry is one where workers can do well just by dint of tenacity and hard work. The aristrocracy and powerbrokers don’t go near it. Your activity is the source of identity for coastal communities. At work you are free.

Now imagine, having been bombarded with insultingly simplistic hyperbole about the impacts of your industry, that the middle classes decide not to like you. They view your job as one for greedy, good-for- nothing skivers, folk that take something for nothing. These people are more articulate than you, better off, better connected, more numerous, and have no economic link to your business. If you fail, it has no impact on them.

In fact, they earn more money the more despicable they can make you appear. Casting aspersions on your character and industry is a multi-million- pound business. Not only that, but their success in vilifying you makes them feel smug. These people make such a good job of making you look bad because that is what they are paid to do; they can afford good lawyers and bad politicians.

You, on the other hand, are paid to work. Not to wear a suit and sit in an office wearing a shirt and tie in meeting after meeting, discussing the nuances of situations over canapés.

You find yourself and your industry being eroded. Not by fact-based evidence but by the wild ramblings of people who are ideologically driven to persecute those who make a living from a common resource.

If this is you, my friend, you are a fisherman. Be proud. Be strong. Be safe."

Dr Magnus Johnson is a lecturer in environmental marine science at the Centre for Environmental and Marine Sciences, University of Hull. His views are his own.

Girls on boats?

 

Emily Kempson grew up in Hastings, home to the largest beach-launched fishing fleet in the U.K. Her friends came from fishing families and for a long time she wanted to become a fisherman. But she never saw any women working down on the boats. She heard mutterings that it was unlucky for a woman to step aboard a boat - the industry is steeped in superstition. Drawing on its rich history and myths she sets out to find the women who have made it into the catching sector.

Out of the 12,000 people going out to sea to fish for their living, just 18 are women. The industry is at a critical point with fuel prices rocketing and people selling up and leaving. It desperately needs to recruit. Emily meets the UK’s youngest-ever apprentice skipper, Isla Gale from the Isle of Man, and follows her as she prepares for a trip north to fish for scallops. She also meets Ashley Mullenger, from Wells-next-the-sea in Norfolk, as she’s nominated for a prestigious fishing news award, and she steps on board Verity Winser’s boat as she describes how sexism and superstition have impacted her life at sea.

Finding and retaining crew generally is a challenge. In the past, entrance into the industry was generational, with opportunities and knowledge passed down from father to son. As fish stock declined in the 90s and wages fell, a career in fishing began to seem less desirable. The average age of a fisherman in England is now 50. The UK must encourage a new generation of entrants. Will those women who are keen to join the sector be welcomed in the years to come?

Produced by Sarah Cuddon A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio Four

Prins Bernhard - Day 11 - "It's a hell of a ship"

 

"It's a hell of a ship. With her, you can feel the sea. She is a full member of the crew.

Each ship has its "personality", which is as much due to its technical characteristics as to its history. A very strong bond unites Prins Bernhard and each of the men who work and live on board. Documentary filmmaker, Thomas was able to perceive the singularity of this team.

Embark. Discover the images of the herring season in the English Channel on our LinkedIn page and on the dedicated page of our website (https://lnkd.in/e8cBt_pS).

The Future of UK Fishing - as the Government see it.

The UK’s seafood sector is an important part of the economy of coastal communities and has a rich cultural heritage from which many of those communities draw a sense of place and identity. The UK’s relationship with the sea is rightly celebrated. All along the coast, from the largest port to the smallest quayside, fishers, fishing communities and the aquaculture1 sector take pride in delivering high-quality, sustainable produce, which contributes to food security. In addition, the UK is recognised for its investment in fisheries science, not just in assessing the health of fish stocks and ecosystems, but also in developing and adapting its fishing methods and using new technologies - something more important than ever given the need to address the challenges of climate change. 

In this time of change, the UK will continue to value the importance of fishing to its many coastal communities, including for recreational uses, and will deliver a prosperous fishing industry for future generations while safeguarding, restoring and enhancing the marine environment on which the industry and wider society depends.

Our fisheries face a range of challenges and opportunities on which all four UK Administrations will need to work together. Continuing to rebuild fish stocks, reducing the environmental effects of fishing, as well as minimising the adverse effects on, and supporting adaptation to, climate change, will be vital to ensuring a vibrant seafood sector which is fit for the future. Promoting the consumption of locally sourced seafood as a healthy, high-protein source and supporting prosperous and resilient UK and international markets is a key part of ensuring food security. Delivering sustainable fisheries and aquaculture is essential to achieving the UK’s vision for ‘clean, healthy, safe, productive, and biologically diverse oceans and seas’.

Sea fish are a public resource and, having left the European Union (EU), the UK Administrations have a responsibility to manage their fisheries so as to ensure their sustainable stewardship in a way that recognises the specific needs of our diverse seafood industry and marine environment.

The Fisheries Act 2020 (the Act) sets out eight fisheries objectives that provide the basis against which the fisheries policy authorities (the Secretary of State, Scottish Ministers, Welsh Ministers and the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs in Northern Ireland) will manage their fisheries. This JFS sets out the policies agreed jointly between the fisheries policy authorities on sea fisheries (catching and processing), recreational sea fishing, and aquaculture management for achieving, or contributing to the achievement of, the fisheries objectives. These policies, together with the fisheries objectives, will be reflected by fisheries policy authorities in their own policy development. Individual fisheries policy authorities may also have existing devolved strategies and policy documents, which already reflect policies within the JFS, and therefore the fisheries objectives.

2 UK Marine Policy Statement  

The fisheries policy authorities have jointly prepared and published this JFS for the purposes of the Act. As national fisheries authorities, they, and the Marine Management Organisation (MMO), are obliged to exercise their functions in accordance with the policies in the JFS and applicable FMPs, in line with section 10 of the Act. Importance of fishing to all nations in the UK

The fishing and aquaculture sectors in the UK support a diverse supply chain which includes catching, processing of fish, transportation, loading and unloading of fish or fish products.

In the catching industry, commercial fisheries across the UK range from large pelagic vessels which can catch hundreds of tonnes of fish in a single haul, to small inshore fishing vessels and intertidal hand gatherers of shellfish. The approach to management and specific management measures can vary across the UK and in inshore and offshore waters. Fleet composition varies considerably between each nation, and fishing plays an important role in sustaining some vulnerable coastal communities and their ports and harbours.

Recreational sea fishing is also a popular form of fishing in the UK and, like commercial fishing, provides important economic and social benefits.

As one of the UK’s strategic food production sectors, aquaculture helps to underpin sustainable economic growth, both in rural and coastal communities and in the wider economy. Aquaculture policy is fully devolved within the UK, and, as such, each of the fisheries policy authorities operates under devolved legislation and policies. The seafood processing and export sector is a locally significant employer in the UK. It consists of primary processing (like filleting and freezing) and secondary processing (like portioning, packing, smoking and breading), as well as facilities for exporting unprocessed fish. Seafood processing sites are situated across the UK, ranging from small sites to larger processing businesses with multiple sites, often clustered in key regional hubs. The sector’s output is for both domestic and international markets, varying around the UK. In some parts of the UK fish are also exported as live, unprocessed goods, predominantly to the EU market. Seafood imports, alongside domestically fished species, are also important for the fish processing sector and support economic output.

 

Prins Bernhard - Day 10 - quittez temp.

"Embarking on the Prins Bernhard means agreeing to join a family of fishermen. These few days spent in their company are rich in experiences and learning. The memories are also numerous. These few photographs reflect these moments.

Almost two weeks have passed since the beginning of the tide – the time has come for Thomas Troadec to leave Prins Bernhard and the 29 men who give it life."

Embark. Discover the images of the herring season in the English Channel on our LinkedIn page France Pélagique and on the dedicated page of our website (https://lnkd.in/e8cBt_pS).

Rise of the eight-legger! - a series of reports from the French coast.

In the fishing ports of southern Brittany, the proliferation of octopus worries Octopus seems to have proliferated in southern Brittany since the summer of 2021. Fishermen from Lorient and Quiberon in Morbihan see this every day. Explanations.

Breton fishermen bring up more and more octopus in their traps. A proliferation that worries the profession and scientists.

Southern Brittany has seen more and more octopus in recent months. At the Lorient and Quiberon auctions in Morbihan, these molluscs are increasingly filling the seafood bins. The octopus occasionally offers new outlets to fishermen, but it upsets the local ecosystem and the biomass.

Read also: From Saint-Malo to Cancale: octopus alert on the coasts 

The first affected, the fishermen 

The phenomenon of octopuses or common octopuses ( Octopus vulgaris ) is visible on fishing returns. “It is a species that has appeared massively in recent times. We have seen a lot of them since July 2021 at the Lorient fish auction,” says Yonel Madec, director of the Lorient fish auction.

In Quiberon , same story. On a Friday in November 2021, at the auction, there were 19 tonnes of octopus… out of 23 tonnes of products. Octopus occasionally became the first species at the top of sales in Morbihan auctions.

The French Research Institute for the Exploitation of the Sea (Ifremer) in Lorient corroborates this recent proliferation: “In the spring of 2021, we started to see a lot of them. It exploded in the summer.

A fishery that has been able to delight fishermen with large quantities of molluscs (from 6-8 euros per kilo) but which has consequences on the resource.

For Yonel Madec from the Lorient fish auction, we do not yet "know the repercussions on our local ecosystem" but we think that octopus is already harmful:

Octopuses have contributed to endangering certain species such as the scallop shell in Quiberon and the Glénans. This caused the lobsters and crabs to move. 

The octopus is a predator. 

Lionel Pawlowski from Ifremer had the bitter experience of this during a dive:

During a dive in Groix in 2021, I saw more dead shells than live scallops. I came across an octopus that was eating the inside of the shell. The octopus hunts in the rock in “umbrella” mode. It surrounds the rock with its tentacles and captures small crustaceans.

A link with global warming?

The common octopus is present in Breton waters. Could its proliferation be linked to the warming of the water? Fishermen and scientists agree that we have to wait.

“These are populations that fluctuate enormously. We are in a period of high abundance. These are animals that do not live very long: 18 months to 3 years, “ says Ifremer Lorient. “The octopus had almost disappeared in the 1960s after a cold summer. […] Scientific articles show that reproduction is favored when the water is warmer 

Could the last hot summers have stimulated reproduction? asks Lionel Pawlowski. The marine environment specialist recalls that in the Bay of Biscay, “it has been observed that the temperature increases by 0.3°C per decade. » “For now, there is no real answer. To say that there is cause and effect with global warming would be a shortcut”, also tempers Yonel Madec. The phenomenon of octopus proliferation remains closely watched by scientists.

Some French fishermen have adopted the millennia-old method of using ceramic pots to fish for octopus.

Tunisian fishermen use a similar technique

Many fishermen also use lures to catch octopus in the same way they catch squid of cuttlefish.


Public consultation - octopus fishing in Brittany

Draft decree approving the deliberation of the CRPMEM of Brittany setting the conditions for octopus fishing in the territorial waters located off the Brittany region

This consultation, within the framework of the draft deliberation of the Regional Committee for Maritime Fisheries and Marine Farming of Brittany approved by this draft decree, aims to establish a framework for octopus fishing in territorial waters off the coast of the region. Brittany.

The "OCTOPUS FISHING IN BRITTANY" deliberation provides for a framework for the fishing of octopus and edones, Octopus vulgaris and Eledone cirrhosa, in the territorial waters off the Brittany region. To simplify the reading of this note and the draft text, the generic term "Octopus" is retained below.

Currently, octopus fishing is not subject to specific regulations in Breton territorial waters. The only existing measure is set by Regulation 2019/1241 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 on the conservation of fishery resources and the protection of marine ecosystems by technical measures, and sets the minimum conservation reference weight octopus ( Octopus vulgaris ) at 750 grams.

However, since the year 2021, a phenomenon of massive proliferation of octopuses and edones has been observed in the north of the Bay of Biscay. In 2021, around 3,400 tonnes were recorded in the northern Bay of Biscay by Ifremer, compared to volumes around 200 tonnes in previous years.

Since 2021, prices have remained high and the markets are in demand, generating a strong appeal for the species and a significant targeted fishing effort, particularly in certain areas of southern Brittany.

This phenomenon, coupled with the absence of regulations, has led to a major change in fishing practices in the sectors most affected to date: Belle Ile and Les Glénan. The rapid expansion of the range of these species also raises fears of changes in practices in more northern sectors in the medium term.

Thus, in the first place, a large number of vessels already equipped with shellfish pots or traps have started to target octopus and change their fishing area. At the same time, new ships arrived to target it, in particular by trawl or trap for ships that had not previously practiced this profession. Many ships have also equipped themselves with “octopus boards” (related LTL gear), a new activity in the territorial waters off Brittany.

All of these changes in practices have caused major problems of cohabitation in two specific sectors in 2021, in particular from September, a period when the proliferation phenomenon has increased:

Off southern Finistère, in the Glénan sector. Off Morbihan, in the Belle Ile sector. The strong presence of octopus from the start of 2022 did not make it possible to alleviate these problems and raises fears of an increase in their magnitude from September 2022.

Consequently, the office of the CRPMEM of Brittany asked to initiate work, in connection with the Departmental Committees of Maritime Fisheries and Marine Breeding (CDPMEM), relating to the supervision of the fishery and the acquisition of knowledge (on the species and on the impacts for fishing activities).

At the request of professionals operating in the sectors mainly affected by this phenomenon, the CDPMEMs of Morbihan and Finistère have organized cohabitation meetings in order to find suitable solutions for all ships. These meetings brought out the need to limit the number of devices allowing to target octopus on these two sectors, but also outside these perimeters in order not to create a new postponement of activity.

At the same time, two internships started in April 2022 in order to analyze in detail the number of vessels, the gear used and the sectors concerned (conducting activity surveys according to the Valpena methodology), then to identify the impact of these changes in activity on the fleets of each department.

This draft deliberation of the CRPMEM Bretagne approved by this draft decree therefore has the main objective of setting an initial framework that currently does not exist and then of referring to a sectoral decision-making system a certain number of elements that can be applied locally. The articulation between the deliberation and the sectoral decisions will allow:

To define sectors subject to strong problems of cohabitation locally, and to apply specific rules to them according to the context; To take more restrictive measures than those fixed by deliberation. The construction of the draft text was carried out in order to take into account all the fisheries already established in Brittany and likely to fish octopus, and in such a way as not to call into question the balances already in place on the various trap professions and in particular those of large crustaceans (lobster, lobsters, spiders, cakes).

This draft text was presented and discussed during the “Coastal fishing” working group which was held on Friday June 10, 2022 and which issued a favorable opinion.*