Proper busy in Newlyn this Monday morning.

The Britannia V and...

the Margaret of Ladram were just two of the boats landing over the weekend...

while the workboat Trerramere had her bottom cleaned on the slip...

Monday morning saw the Annie May taking on her insulated tubs for a day on the wrecks...

while on the fish market the best of Newlyn fish like this big brill were up for auction...

there's two sides to every ling...

just part of a good trip from the inshore trawler Guardian...

and the New Venture...

gold-standard pollack...

a nice bream collection...

something totally new, four big boxes of Mediterranean octopus landed by a beam trawler - never before have these fish been landed by such boats...

turbot are a different story of course...

more quality flats...

and the rest of Tom's quality flats from the Guardian's trip...

plenty of Dovers from the two beam trawlers to land this morning...

plenty of roes to pick out of the gut cavity means it is spawning time again...

some will have come from these saithe...

time for the boxes of fish to find their new homes...

seems there are still good shots of bass to be had...

it's 8:30 and the market is still full of fish...

as the sun tries to put in an appearance from behind the heavy cloud cover...

BM127, the inshore beam trawler Harvester from Brixham...

two very different types of netter...

as the Annie May  heads for the gaps and makes way 

for the Ocean Pride...

and the Kelly of Ladram, young Stanley looks happy to be back in port for an hour or two as both boats will make quick landings and head back out to their nets again which they have left fishing.

 

Full on fish landings this #FishyFriday in Newlyn.

Not the kind of breaking day we have been enjoying for most of the week but that did not deter some of the bigger boats from landing this morning...

like the largest in the fleet, the Enterprise...

with plenty of top-drawer fish like these brill...

bass...

and John Dory...

the inshore boats were also out in force so mackerel made up some of the morning's auction sales...

along with the usual flats like these plaice...

all three beam trawlers landed cuttlefish, though with the price dropping around 60p a kilo by the end of the week the boats lost a significant part from their grossings...

these days not all of the fleet land their ray whole...

many 'wing' their ray and sell the 'frame' to the crabbers for bait...

a few inshore boats like Cap'n Cod made mackerel their target fish for the day...

alongside the fish market the crew of the Trevessa IV...

are busy overhauling both sets of gear...

with skipper-to-be Danny donning a pair of greasy gloves to sort out the port warp...

which then needs more than a slight adjustment to get it to wind on the winch drum...

meanwhile tubs of cuttles are hauled outside... 

to be picked up by the forklift...

the Our Charlie Mia  is the latest addition to the growing inshore fleet with young skipper Brackan Pearce at the helm...

after landing last night at the market...

harbour tug boat Danmar assists the Stelissa coming down off the slip...

just a few of the Waterdance fleet between trips...

as the Jen T waits for the Stelissa to clear the gaps allowing her away to sea...

and the harbour goes quiet for a few minutes...

until the work starts again.

Fish of the Day - week 11 - Cuckoo ray

 

The waters around the South Western Approaches support almost every kind of ray and skate found in the North East Atlantic.

The fish were were once seen on every fish and chip shop board often sold as skate.

They landed mainly by beam trawlers and inshore trawlers.

Distributed across North Eastern Atlantic waters from western North Africa to the British Isles and throughout the Mediterranean, the cuckoo ray (Leucoraja naevus) is common in the Irish Sea, Celtic Sea and northern North Sea. It is rarely encountered in the eastern English Channel and southern North Sea. The cuckoo ray inhabits gravel and coarse sand seabeds and is typically found further offshore than other species of skate, such as the thornback and spotted ray, at depths ranging from 30 to 200 m.

Juvenile cuckoo rays feed on small crustaceans and polychaete worms whilst adults target bony fish such as gobies and sand eels The cuckoo ray is able to feed on small crustaceans and worms, and sometimes fish using the crushing plates that replace teeth in its mouth. Young cuckoo rays are more commonly found further offshore, whereas adults are often found close to shore. The cuckoo ray lays between 70 to 150 eggs per year. These eggs are commonly called ‘mermaid’s purses’ and empty ones can be found washed up along the shore line. 

Although it is commonly called the cuckoo ray, it is actually a species of skate (sometimes known as the cuckoo skate). Skates and rays are closely related and look similar, but you can spot the difference by looking at the tail. Skates have a short tail with small fins and no stinging capabilities, whereas rays have a long whip-like tail.

The fish average around the £3.00 per kilo at auction - on a good market, the largest grade of cukoo ray can make over £7.00.