First #FishyFriday in March - in like a lion!

Them is some serious showers heading towards the Lizard this morning...

though things aren't looking much better closer to home...

with the netters in port over the big tide, all this morning's fish like these huge Dovers was from trawl and beam trawl boats...

ink everywhere, a hazard for the delicate scales and skin of red mullet when the cod end is also full of cuttles...

first time landing for the Belgian beam trawler...

Artevelde on the market...

tradition has it that these boats hang their cod ends up to dry once the boat is back in port and tied up...

she arrived on the sole ground off Trevose earlier this week, 15 hours after leaving Ostend at midnight on the 23rd of February...

and landed yesterday, the usual mix of flats that you would expect from fishing up-channel...

whereas Our Charlie Mia fished much closer to home just south of Lands End...

making up the landings of top quality fish was the St Georges with these cracking monk tails...

big fish, big tail...

a few inshore boats managed to brave the weather and catch a few oily fish like these herring...

and mackerel...

one fine flat...

the scourge of the deckhand that gets to wash down the fishroom or market floor, cuttle ink gets everywhere...

once upon a time, when there were nearly 30 beam trawlers working from the port, megrim soles were the premier species by value landed in Newlyn...

monk tails ran a close second...

visiting inshore boats, Four Sons and the Jacqui A...

also a long way from home, the seine netter Acionna...

and the Enterprise at rest...

time to step aboard, young Mr Pender gets a helping hand...

from St Georges skipper Peter Elsworth...

modern hulls dwarf those of old...

"back to back they faced each other".

Monday morning in Newlyn after a blast from the North!

Strong NNE winds push scudding clouds over the harbour as a new set of shoes make their way down the quay to a waiting beamer...

a man and his machine...

fishing almost to the top of the spring tide, the Stelissa...

and Silver Dawn put ashore plenty of hake......

handline fish were few and far between owing to the inclement weather over the weekend...

in addition to the net caught hake the Revival, the first Scottish prawn boat to visit this year landed their whitefish for auction...

which helped the range of fish available to this morning's buyers like these beam trawl monk tails...

scallops...

John Dory...

and octopi...

as is common practice with the Scottish boats, the Revival landed her monk head-on...

Spectrum 4, windfarm service vessel on passage...

if your beam trawl comes fast on wreckage and parts the warp, this is the size of the creep needed to pick it up, if luck is with you, you'll pick up the lost trawl up on the first pass, if not, it can be a tedious process...

first time visit for the prawn trawler Revival which is the replacement vessel...

for the previous boat of the same name and number, a regular visitor for the short langoustine season over the last five years...

the continuing offshore NNE breeze sends the local gull population wheeling off the gaps...

and surrounds the Mount with a sea of white horses.

 

Celtic Sea and Western Channel Pelagic FMP – request for stakeholder expertise

 

MMO’s Evidence and Evaluation Team are leading engagement for the Celtic Sea and Western Channel Pelagic FMP, a joint plan between Defra and the Welsh Government due for publication in 2025. This plan covers herring, pilchard, greater silver smelt, horse mackerel and anchovy within ICES areas 7e, 7f, 7g, 7h (Welsh and English waters only).

The MMO team will be forming a partnership to draw on the expertise of stakeholders to develop the plan, including fishers. They are looking for people that can represent their sector (by port, gear, or Fisherman’s Association) as a partnership member. This would involve roughly 3-4 in-person meetings where you would be contributing to the development of management measures and contributing your knowledge about this fishery at key stages of the FMP’s development. Meetings will be held in the afternoon/evening, and you can expect them to last between 2-4 hours.

If you don’t want to be in the partnership but think there is someone from your community that would represent your interests, perspectives, and concerns well instead, you can let the team know using the below email address and they will contact them on your behalf. Outside of the partnership, members of the MMO team will be joining RFG port visits throughout the year to come and talk to you and sending out email updates at key stages of the FMP’s development.

You can email the MMO team leading the engagement at: cswcpelagicfmp@marinemanagement.org.uk or let them know if you would prefer a phone call and they will arrange this.

Calling all fishermen! FSS grant funding reopens for 2024.

The Fisheries and Seafood Scheme is now open to deliver its final year of funding, providing valuable grants to match-fund projects over the next year.

Up to £6 million is available through this scheme to support projects in a variety of areas, including:

• Health and safety
• Processing and production
• Partnerships
• Research
• Business diversification.

Applications can be submitted for smaller projects throughout the year, while projects valued at £150,000 or more will need to be submitted in the spring to be reviewed by a panel.  

Applications can be submitted now and will be approved on a first-come, first-served basis until the budget is exhausted. All claims and payments must be made between April 2024 and 31 March 2025.

Port and harbour infrastructure projects should now apply to schemes under the national UK Seafood Fund.

 

Further info: Fisheries and Seafood Scheme - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Good news! Financial support for pollock fishermen!

 

New measures to help fishermen affected by restrictions to pollack fishing for 2024 have been announced today. Hand-and-pole line fishermen of under-10m vessels, which includes some of those affected by the zero Total Allowable Catch (TAC) for pollack, will be able to benefit from fast-tracked applications for a share of £6 million in grant funding available through the Fisheries and Seafood Scheme, with processing time reduced from eight weeks to four weeks. This will help to get support to those most affected more quickly, helping with diversification and exploring new forms of income.

Separately, affected fishermen will also have the opportunity to supplement this income through taking part in a new scientific study led by the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas). The study will be open to all fishermen and will see collaboration between scientists and fishermen to increase understanding about the stock structure of pollack. Fishermen will catch pollack for use in the study, receiving payments for their initial training and for their participation in the study – and would be able to sell the pollack they have caught. Applications, along with detailed eligibility criteria, will be open as soon as possible.

Further info: Government announces next steps to support pollack fishermen - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

South West line caught pollack

New measures to help fishermen affected by restrictions to pollack fishing for 2024 have been announced by the government today (Friday 23 February).

Hand-and-pole line fishermen of under-10m vessels, which includes some of those affected by the zero Total Allowable Catch (TAC) for pollack, will be able to benefit from fast-tracked applications for a share of £6 million in grant funding available through the Fisheries and Seafood Scheme.

Separately, they will also have the opportunity to be paid for their participation in a new scientific study which will aim to understand more about the stock structure of pollack – and sell the pollack that they catch as part of the study.

During recent fisheries negotiations with the EU, it was decided pollack can only be caught as bycatch in 2024. This followed advice from the International Council for the Exploration of the Seas (ICES) to set the TAC for pollack to zero. 

The government’s approach to negotiating catch limits is based on the latest scientific advice, balanced with commitments to economic sustainability and providing opportunities for the UK fleet, consistent with the objectives of the Fisheries Act.

Fisheries Minister Mark Spencer said: We fully recognise the impact that the bycatch-only pollack fishery has had on many fishermen in the South West and today’s measures will provide support to those most affected.

Grant funding will help to support them to diversify and explore other income streams, whilst their participation in a new scientific study will not only provide additional support but help to improve our understanding of the pollack stock as we look to improve its sustainability into the future.”

Fisheries and Seafood Scheme

The Fisheries and Seafood scheme (FaSS) has relaunched for 2024, with approximately £6 million in match funding available to projects that support the development of the catching, processing and aquaculture sectors, and those enhancing the marine environment.

Administered by Marine Management Organisation (MMO) on behalf of Defra, applications from all fishermen are encouraged, but hand-and-pole line fishermen of under-10m vessels, which includes some of those affected by the zero TAC for pollack, will see their applications fast-tracked, with processing time reduced from eight weeks to four weeks.

This will help to get support to those most affected more quickly, helping them with diversification and to explore new forms of income.

New scientific study

Separately, affected fishermen will also have the opportunity to supplement this income through taking part in a new scientific study led by the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas).

The study will be open to all fishermen and will see collaboration between scientists and fishermen to increase understanding about the stock structure of pollack.

Fishermen will catch pollack for use in the study, receiving payments for their initial training and for their participation in the study – and would be able to sell the pollack they have caught.

Applications, along with detailed eligibility criteria, will be open as soon as possible.

Longer-term management

To improve the longer-term management of pollack, the UK will work with the EU via the Specialised Committee on Fisheries (SCF) towards an improved assessment of the stock.

The government will continue to work with industry representatives as part of this. This joint work will also help to improve our understanding of the recreational fishery, with a view to the introduction of limits where appropriate and where these are likely to be effective in reducing pressure on the stock.

Final #FishyFriday in February

Dull but dry start to the day in Newlyn...

at the end of a week that saw another heavy week of fish landed with many of the netters making several big landings each for the tide...

mostly of hake...

but there were also plenty of dogs...

and other whitefish like these cracking haddockfrom the Ajax..

and Silver Dawn...

even the beam trawler, Cornishman picked up plenty of haddock...

work will soon start on restoring the Old harbour to its former glory when it will become a heritage centre for Cornish luggers and other traditional fishing crafts like withy pot making...

Serene Dawn heads in the through the gaps...

the weather combined with a big tide which created a heavy swell was poor enough to see the Crystal Sea back in port

looks like Richard has his work sorted for the day doing all those necessary below the waterline jobs that keep a boat afloat, like renewing anodes and antifouling the hull.