Chilly #FishyFriday fish market in Newlyn

Early hours of Friday morning and the sardines are coming ashore...

from skipper Dan, the Golden Harvest was the only boat to catch...

and land any late season fish...

with all three tanks full to the brim...

wind the clock forward a few hours and the sky begins to clear with the temperature, as forecast, just above freezing

just in time for the weekend fish from two beam trawlers will have kept the buyers happy with fish like megrim sole...

red mullet...

beautiful 'butts...

and a handful of mackerel...

the odd lobster...

and a few dozen witches...

to go with the gurnards...

there's wo sides to every brill...

it's that man Ian at it again...

el congero...

flatfish, what beamers do best...

though it seems there are still dogs everywhere...

and the odd JD...

how times change, even scad are making enough money to be landed by a beam trawler...

just a handful of these fish from a handful of inshore boats that braved yesterday's fresh weather...

next week will see the return of the gillnetters, all of whom are at sea today...

and judging by the stark looking sky and wheeling gulls it's not going to be so nice out there...

as the direction of the flag above the harbour offices indicates the reason why the wind is a tad on the cilly side...

there's a whole lot of gear under construction...

and on the heavy side it is too, hundreds of strops ready for the pots...

plus a new set of trawls and footropes for the Steph of Ladram...

the new one, champing at the bit...

enough big rope to provide ebery boat with new shorelines...

more signs that the Old Quay is being brought back into use, scaffolding on the end of the quay, full details of the project including how to join the growing group of volunteers who have already made a huge difference to the look of the stonework are on the website devoted to its new lease of life...

Barnabas, just one of the boats that will soon be able to enjoy all the benefits of the hard work by the Cornish Maritime Trust and others.

 

AIS data to inform small scale fisheries management and marine spatial planning - paper.

 

Example of basic AIS data from VesselTracker.

The paper investigates the potential of using Automatic Identification Systems (AIS) data to inform small-scale fisheries management and marine spatial planning, specifically along the Scottish coast. AIS, originally designed for collision avoidance, broadcasts a vessel's position, track, and speed. By modeling AIS data reception and utilizing open-source Geographic Information System software, the study analyzes three months of AIS data from 274 small-scale fishing vessels. The research provides valuable insights into trip durations, distances traveled, and dependency on fishing grounds, while also addressing the challenges and opportunities presented by the uneven coverage of AIS receivers, especially in complex coastal topographies. The aim is to enhance understanding of fishing activities, inform management practices, and support the sustainable use of marine resources.

Paper by Tania Mendo  Publisher: Elsevier BV Publication

What are the main benefits of using AIS data for small-scale fisheries management? 

AIS data provides several benefits for small-scale fisheries management, including:

• Characterization of Fishing Trips: AIS data can help identify and analyze individual fishing trips by filtering out non-fishing movements, thus giving insights into actual fishing activities.

• Spatial Planning Support: The data's ability to illustrate the spatio-temporal distribution of fishing activities can inform marine spatial planning, aiding in the efficient allocation of marine resources and compliance with conservation policies.

• Integration with Other Data: The study suggests that integrating AIS data with other relevant metrics can improve fisheries management and enhance understanding of fisheries interactions with the environment.

What limitations of AIS data are highlighted in the study for regulatory purposes? 

The study identifies several limitations when using AIS data for regulatory purposes:

• Coverage Limitations: The distribution of AIS receivers is not uniform, and local topography can obstruct line-of-sight communication, compromising data reception in certain areas.

• Quality of Data: There may be issues with the quality of AIS transmissions that need careful consideration, including error rates in identifying actual fishing activities versus non-fishing movements.

• Need for Tailored Filtering Criteria: The effectiveness of identifying fishing trips depends on region-specific filtering criteria, which may need continuous refinement to accommodate variations in fishing practices and vessel operations.

How was the AIS data collected and analyzed for the research? 

The AIS data was collected from 274 small-scale fishing vessels operating within Scottish Territorial waters over three months. The researchers used open-source Geographic Information System and relational database software to model AIS data reception and conduct analyses. Computationally efficient methods were explored to process the large data volumes, focusing on spatio-temporal analyses of fishing trips, including duration, distance traveled, and fishing ground dependency. The methodology involved applying specific filtering criteria to discern fishing trips from other vessel movements, allowing for a detailed understanding of fishing activities in the area.

First February Monday morning market.

"Looks like there's trouble ahead"...

high water on a big spring tide, and there's a few sardine boats away on the horizon looking for fish...

where the river meets the sea...

chemtrail fans will be freaking out this morning...

perfect condensing conditions up high it seems...

back on planet earth there's bass a-plenty...

and a solitary oyster, that would NEVER have made it ashore from the good ship Keriolet!......

the Billy Rowney was one of two beam trawl trips landed...

with a few red mullet...

 just the one black bream from the Imogen...

there's no stopping General Factotum, no sooner has he finished auctioning the morning's fish from the office than he is out on the market floor pulling fish, he'll be landing a boat next!..

spot those lovely spots on the plaice...

luscious lemons from the big boat, that dodged for over 24 hours during storm Herminia...

its a wrap...

plenty of reds from the big one...

plus Dovers...

tails...

and megrims...

ballan wrasse, not quite so colourful as the cuckoo variety...

sharpen the big knife!, first bluefin for the year...

from one of the sardine boats...

nice weekend's work from the Rachel & Paul...

and to finish off with a few half decent ling...

as the sun makes it presence felt...

brining a little light to proceedings...

all three crabbers are within inches the same length, an illustration of how hull design has changed over three generations of boats in the Rowse crabbing fleet...

bows just keep getting bigger...

and bigger...

and bigger...

there's work to be done on the Ripple after losing her fore mast in the storms...

there's still a few passing yachts on the pontoons...

Tom heads away for another day in the Bay, or is some some timely réperations in PZ dock?..

Micahel Edward, the latest crabber to join the fleet,.

 

Fishing port safety project launches.

PSS has launched a project aimed at improving safety for fishers using UK ports.

The project, supported by a grant from The Seafarers’ Charity, will give a voice to fishers using UK ports and also ensure that ports take their responsibility for the safety of fishers seriously.

Part of the new fishing port safety project will be to review existing Safety in Ports guidance to ensure they recognise the unique operations undertaken in fishing ports. PSS is founded on the principles of collaboration and will be working with fishing ports and fishers to encourage them to share common safety concerns, best practice and potential future developments.

PSS hopes that this project will help to ensure that ports do not dismiss safety concerns relating to fishing because of the known risks in the sector. Despite not being able to affect safety at sea for fishers, there is much ports can do. From enforcing safety protocols and PPE policies, to ensuring safe access and egress, this project will work with ports to improve safety.

PSS will be recruiting a part-time fishing port safety manager with experience of the fishing sector to support this project. To apply see the job description below and submit your CV and covering letter to info@portskillsandsafety.co.uk.

New MPAs Will Compensate for Damage from Offshore Wind – and Fishing is in the Firing Line Again.

A Ministerial Statement by Emma Hardy MP, Minister for Water and Flooding, has set out the Government’s plans to expand the UK’s MPA network, to make up for environmental damage caused by offshore wind farms.

Today’s Ministerial Statement from Defra certainly demonstrates the Labour government’s green credentials: they are enthusiastically recycling a policy snatched from the wreckage of their Conservative predecessors.

For years, we have been told that offshore wind farms are a clean energy panacea, generating electricity with none of the negative environmental effects of fossil fuels. While their benefits as a low carbon power source cannot be denied, the halo that so many have been so keen to place above them is becoming seriously tarnished. People have become increasingly aware of their short lifespan, disruptive construction processes and vulnerability to attack. Now it seems there is acknowledgement that they are damaging the environment too.

Time and again, the authorities have granted permission for offshore wind farms to be built on the basis of environmental impact assessment reports invariably stating that each proposed development will cause no significant harm. Now those same developments are apparently so damaging that a slew of new marine protected areas is necessary to make up for it. Knowing this, will we now pause in our headlong rush to industrialise Britain’s seas, until we understand how successive governments got it all so wrong?

Of course not. Nothing, it seems will reduce the government’s enthusiasm for allowing foreign energy giants to build power stations in our waters. Instead, we will allow them to carry on as before, damaging the marine environment in one location, while pretending that this can somehow all be made better by ‘protecting’ the sea somewhere else.

Clearly, this announcement is just the start of a process and a lot is left unsaid. We do not know how large these MPAs will be; where they will be located; or exactly how they will be managed. The fact that fishermen are mentioned so explicitly in the Ministerial Statement is a worrying sign of how obviously our industry is in the firing line, but also a positive indicator of the government’s willingness to engage with us. Indeed, it is quite refreshing to hear politicians acknowledging that the decisions they are taking will impact the fishing industry. There has been far too much empty rhetoric about ‘coexistence’ and ‘colocation’ in the past. Now it is admitted that these proposals have the potential to damage fishing businesses, perhaps we can start to have the honest conversations and do the difficult work necessary to minimise and mitigate the harm that most of us in the fishing industry have seen coming for years.

The Fisheries Act and the Joint Fisheries Statement are very clear in their commitment to treating environmental, social, economic and food supply concerns equally. We assume that the government will abide by the law and carefully balance these concerns in any decision that it makes about this new system of MPAs. We assume also that the commitment to base marine management measures on the best available science will also be upheld and these new MPAs will not be more examples of lines drawn on charts to satisfy the desire to control the sea and ban things, with no coherent conservation purpose served.

Fishermen depend on healthy seas. If compensating for the damage done by the power industry requires fisherman to be displaced, then it is only just for them to be compensated for this damage to their livelihoods. If not, then the old ‘polluter pays’ principle of environmental management will be turned on its head: the energy companies will continue to pollute, while fishermen pay for it.

There is a solution to this problem, of course. If fishermen are going to be pushed aside for yet more MPAs, it is possible to make room for them. The Johnson government’s disastrous Brexit deal gave away access to the UK’s territorial waters between 6 and 12 miles to the EU. Many of its fishing boats continue to work there, further constraining British fishermen. When the Trade and Cooperation Agreement that governs our relationship with Europe is revisited in 2026, our new government has the opportunity to finally do something different to its predecessor. It can stand up to the EU’s demands to continue the current unsustainable access arrangements; assert the UK’s autonomy as an independent coastal state, and retake all of our territorial waters for UK fishermen. They will be far better able to withstand this latest increase in spatial squeeze as a result.

Warm words about the importance of fishing and about food security are always welcome, but it is time that they were followed by action. This is the perfect opportunity for Labour to show that they are made of sterner stuff than their predecessors and, at least in this regard, to start managing the UK’s seas for the benefit of its own people.

Full story courtesy of the NffO website.

Bridging the Gaps: The UK Marine Strategy and Its Relevance to Commercial Fishing

Bridging the Gaps: The UK Marine Strategy and Its Relevance to Commercial Fishing

In recent years, the health of our oceans has become a critical concern not just for environmentalists, but for industries reliant on marine resources, especially commercial fishing. The recently released "Marine Strategy Part Three: 2025 UK Programme of Measures" provides significant insights into how the UK aims to balance ecological health with the economic necessity of fishing. Let’s delve into the highlights of the strategy that are particularly relevant to commercial fishing.

Key fishing-related issues covered in the "Marine Strategy Part Three: 2025 UK Programme of Measures":

• Fisheries Act 2020: Establishes a regulatory framework for sustainable management of commercial fish and shellfish to achieve Good Environmental Status (GES).

• Sustainable Fishing Practices: Emphasis on maintaining harvested species above biomass levels capable of producing maximum sustainable yield (MSY).

• Fisheries Management Plans (FMPs): Intended as evidence-based plans for managing both quota and non-quota stocks, such as shellfish like crab and lobster.

• Bycatch Mitigation: Introduction of the Clean Catch Bycatch Mitigation Hub to centralize information on reducing bycatch across various fishing gear types and species.

• International Cooperation: Negotiation of sustainable catch limits through annual consultations with the EU and other coastal states for shared fish stocks.

• Cross-Cutting Measures: Implementation of fisheries management measures in Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) and Highly Protected Marine Areas (HPMAs) to enhance fish population recovery.

• Data Gaps and Research: Initiatives aimed at improving data collection and monitoring to better inform management practices and reduce uncertainty about fish populations.

• Long-Term Recovery of Stocks: Acknowledgement that it may take several years for fish stocks to respond to conservation measures and regulatory efforts.

• Impact of Commercial Fishing: Addressing the environmental impacts of fishing on marine ecosystems, aiming to minimize habitat degradation.

• Ecosystem-Based Management: Adoption of a holistic approach to fisheries management that considers the health of entire marine ecosystems, including interactions between different species and habitats.

A Framework for Sustainable Fisheries

At the core of the strategy lies the Fisheries Act 2020, which serves as the foundational legislation for managing fish stocks sustainably. This act emphasizes the need to maintain populations of harvested species above biomass levels capable of producing maximum sustainable yield (MSY). This means that fishing practices must not only meet current economic demands but also ensure the long-term viability of fish populations, thereby benefiting the commercial fishing sector in the future .

Integrated Environmental Management

The strategy takes an ecosystem-based management approach, which aims to mitigate the impacts of fishing activities on marine habitats. There are plans to introduce Fisheries Management Plans (FMPs), which will act as evidence-based action plans to ensure that fishing stocks are managed sustainably. These plans are critical for non-quota shellfish stocks like crab and lobster, ensuring that commercial interests align with biodiversity goals.

Cross-Cutting Measures

Several cross-cutting measures aim to address both the ecological and economic dimensions of fishing. For instance, the Clean Catch Bycatch Mitigation Hub has been established to provide resources for reducing bycatch across various fishing practices. This initiative not only helps protect sensitive marine species but also promotes more sustainable fishing practices that could lead to better long-term outcomes for commercial fisheries.

Collaboration and Data Collection

The strategy highlights the importance of collaboration among various stakeholders, including industry representatives, scientists, and environmental NGOs. A focused benthic impact working group is proposed to identify and implement measures that reduce the impact of fishing on seabed habitats. This collaborative approach is essential for addressing the gaps in data that currently hinder effective management of marine resources.

Addressing Challenges and Future Prospects

Despite the ambitious objectives set forth, the report acknowledges that it may take years for fish stocks to respond positively to these measures due to the nature of biological and climatic factors . However, the emphasis on international cooperation, particularly regarding shared stocks and Total Allowable Catches (TAC), is vital. The UK aims to negotiate sustainable catch limits with the EU and other coastal states to enhance the management of marine resources, which is crucial for commercial fishing operations that often span national boundaries.

Summary

The "Marine Strategy Part Three: 2025 UK Programme of Measures" represents a comprehensive approach to achieving sustainable commercial fishing while safeguarding marine ecosystems. By integrating clear regulatory frameworks, collaborative efforts among stakeholders, and a commitment to data-driven management, the strategy sets a promising precedent for the future of fishing in the UK. As commercial fishers and industry stakeholders, engaging with this strategy can help bridge the gaps between ecological sustainability and economic vitality, ensuring that our waters remain healthy for generations to come.

For further insights and to participate in shaping a sustainable future for marine resources, consult the full document and stay informed about upcoming initiatives.