Iconic Newlyn building brought back to life!

As recent national media articles have acknowledged Cornwall, and Newlyn in particular, is the most densely populated area of creative endeavour. With the artistic roots grounded in the Newlyn School pioneered by Stanhope Forbes, England's biggest fishing port continues to embed the creative spirit in its very fabric - nine years ago, Newlyn Filmhouse opened its doors in a former granite fish cellar and smokers built in 1876. 

Just opposite the filmhouse stands another granite building, the old St peters Church hall and schoolroom - a building that has played host to almost every kind of community event, dance schools, discos, bazars, jumble sales, the Newlyn Players and many more have seen hundreds of thousands of locals make the short journey across the Coombe river to enjoy whatever beckoned inside...

and not least amongst those events were those connected to the fishing industry - here, the harbour commissioners are in the process of inviting fishing skippers and their representatives to an historic meeting in the 'schoolroom' when... 

back in 1973 the decision was taken not to go ahead with an ambitious plan to double the size of the harbour to accommodate the growing fleet - unlike the Rev Laczryma's hugely ambitious plans that saw tyhe creation of the North and South Piers in the late 1880s...

seen here streaming across the bridge, fishermen met in their hundreds in late 1978 when the handline fleet that amassed every year during the winter months were contending with the presence of the powerful pelagic fleets from Grimsby, Hull, Lowestoft and the entire Scottish purser fleet all targeting the huge shoals of mackerel...

like many church buildings these days, the old schoolroom was put on the market a few years ago...

which eventually led to local camera & lighting film man, and Penlee lifeboat crew, Chris Yacoubian had the vision to see the potential in re-purposing the building...

as a hub of community endeavour by creating five studio spaces...

one of them being the old stage, now Studio 4...

Studio 3 or Nancy's showboats the 150 year old pitch pine floor...

which, and testament to the quality of timber back in the day, has see Studios 2 and 1's floor submerged under pools of rainwater for many years as a result of a leaking roof...

sanded and polished...

the floor looks like it was laid yesterday...

which give Chris plenty to smile...

and talk about to the constant stream of prospective tenants who streamed through the door over the last two days...

all of whom have loved the bright basement room with its original 1950s tiled floor!

For anyone interested in taking a space, head over to the Cornish Camera Company's page here. 

Saturday sees a short break in the weather sees some in the inshore fleet swing in to action.

Shane steers for a berth, heading back after an early morning start, bass poles tied down...

the Vesta was one of the sardine boats to miss outin the brief weather gap...

sardine boat of old bathes in the morning sunshine...

as Penlee lifeboat cox heads for home...

before young Tom brings the Charlotte Clare astern and into her berth...

good to see the Maverick in action still coming to terms with the fact that he can no longer fish 100% for pollack as he had done for years.

Wild #FishyFriday weather in Newlyn

Light over Newlyn just breaking through the thick cloud cover...

with some hard fought-for fish coming out of the market...

today's landings coming mainly from the beam trawler St Georges...

boxes of big tubs...

but weather must be bad as it has forced the ports biggest trawler to land a short trip...

the only netter to land was the Ygraine...

some nice reds from the Crystal Sea...

and good hake from the Ygraine...

even the big beamer got in on the hake act...

no bright spots on these plaice...

now where did those soles go?..

wet, windy and warm with winds up to Gale Force 9 at times...

plenty of ink on the auction floor from squid, octopus and cuttles...

rays are always a big part of beam trawler landings...

always a good idea to buy local, look out for St Austell Bay mussels in local restaurants...

megrims to go...

the Enterprise is in port as...

are the port's other big beamers...

along with the Trevessa IV and the seiner Aciciona...

while the Crystal Sea has both her trawl doors on the quay...

two Brixham beamers...

the Stephanie and the Mercurius...

and the latest crabber to join the fleet, Michael David.

 

Is Bottom Trawling really the bad boy some make it out to be?

The Sustainability and Environmental Impact of a Key Food Production Method

Bottom trawling, a common method in marine fisheries, contributes significantly to global food supply and employment. Recently, a study led by Hilborn et al. (2023) dives into the sustainability and environmental impacts of trawling, comparing it to other food production systems like livestock farming and aquaculture. As discussions around sustainable food sources intensify, understanding these dynamics is crucial.

The Critical Role of Trawling

Bottom trawling accounts for a remarkable 26% of global marine fisheries catches. This fishing method is essential for providing food and livelihoods to millions, aligning with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals that aim to meet the food and nutritional needs of a growing population. However, the environmental implications of this practice cannot be overlooked.

Evaluating the sustainability of trawl fisheries relative to other food production - video

Comparing Environmental Impacts

One of the main themes of the paper is how bottom trawling stacks up against other food production methods. Trawling's environmental footprint is often considered alongside aquaculture, livestock, and crops, yet there’s a notable lack of comprehensive life cycle assessments (LCAs) specifically for trawling. This gap leaves room for misinterpretation when evaluating its sustainability relative to other systems.

Key environmental impacts attributed to trawling include:

- Fuel Use and Carbon Footprint: The carbon emissions linked to fuel consumption during trawling operations are significant. Notably, while trawling has a higher average carbon footprint than most plant-based foods, it often ranks lower than more resource-intensive options like beef.

- Water Usage and Pollution: Interestingly, trawling typically avoids the use of antibiotics and fertilizers, resulting in smaller water usage impacts compared to conventional livestock farming. This delineation is vital in discussions about water conservation and pollution.

- Impact on Biodiversity: Trawling can disrupt benthic ecosystems and fish populations, leading to habitat damage and altering prey availability for various marine species. However, sustainable management practices can significantly mitigate these negative effects.

Enhancing Sustainability

The study highlights that while bottom trawling does have environmental implications, it can be managed sustainably. By promoting high stock abundances, implementing cooperative fisheries management, and enhancing fishing gear technology, the ecological footprint of trawling can be minimised.

Key management practices that show promise include:

- Avoiding overfishing by maintaining stocks at healthy levels.

- Reducing bycatch through improved gear designs that minimise non-target fish capture.

- Implementing effective management systems that encourage sustainable practices across fleets.

A Call for Comprehensive Assessments

There is a pressing need for thorough and detailed life cycle assessments for bottom trawling. By examining the full supply chain—from harvesting and processing to transport and retail—researchers can better understand and quantify the environmental impacts of this fishing method. Such studies are key to informed discussions about the sustainability of our food systems.

Where does that leave us?

Bottom trawling, when managed intelligently, can be a sustainable option in the broader spectrum of food production systems. By looking closely at its environmental impacts and implementing sound management practices, it’s possible to reduce its footprint and support a healthier marine ecosystem. This research amplifies the conversation about how we can balance food production needs with the responsibility of protecting our environment, all while ensuring a steady food supply to nourish future generations.

As we make choices about the food we consume, understanding the underlying production methods can help guide us toward more sustainable practices that benefit both people and the planet.

You can read the full paper below:

EU takes steps to harmonise the collection of catch data from recreational fisheries

A good follow-up to the recent pollack post from the NFFO - those pesky Europeans again! 

"Today, (12/02/2025) the European Union establishes for the first time, a harmonised system to collect catch data from recreational fisheries in marine coastal areas across the EU.

To manage fish stocks sustainably, it is important to understand the factors that affect them, including the impact of recreational fishing. This new implementing regulation has been adopted to harmonise the reporting process for recreational fishing data from Member States to the Commission. This will help establish a comprehensive and accurate understanding of the current recreational fishing landscape.

As part of the new fisheries control regulation, this initiative addresses a critical knowledge gap by monitoring recreational catches. By doing so, it will provide a clearer picture of the real effects of recreational fishing on the overall health of fish stocks. Accurate data collection is crucial for informed decision-making, enabling policymakers to balance the needs of recreational fishermen with the conservation of marine ecosystems.

To this end, the European Commission will develop RecFishing, an electronic system that will facilitate data collection and catch reporting across the EU, in collaboration with EU coastal countries. This new system will help eliminate existing disparities in data collection and improve the reliability of EU-wide assessments.

The new regulation also introduces measures to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU) and mitigate the environmental impact of abandoned, lost, or discarded fishing gear. In commercial fishing, gear is typically marked with the owner's identification. In contrast, recreational fishing gear often lacks markings. This is why the regulation foresees the marking of non-handled recreational fishing gear, meaning passive gear such as nets, longlines, traps, pots, and creels. While many Member States already have licensing procedures in place for recreational fishing, the new measures aim to standardize these procedures to ensure consistency and fairness across the EU. Fishing rods are excluded from the regulation and don’t have to be marked.

This new system sets higher standards for sustainable fisheries management with minimal burden for national authorities and fishers by facilitating reporting and enabling cross-border interoperability."

Next steps

The Commission will continue to collaborate with EU countries, the scientific community and the recreational fisheries sector to implement these measures.

Background

The development of these measures involved a collaborative process between national authorities, the scientific community, and key sector stakeholders. Contributions from national experts, the International Council for the Exploration of the Seas (ICES) Working Group on Recreational Fisheries Surveys, the European Anglers Alliance, and other experts helped shape a balanced framework that considers the diversity of recreational fisheries across the EU.

In November 2023, the European Parliament and the Council adopted Regulation (EU) 2023/2842, introducing new rules on marine recreational fisheries. The new fisheries control regulation sets out detailed requirements for the submission of catch data to the Commission and the marking of gear used for recreational fisheries.

Full story courtesy of the EU Commission.

Latest SW Regional Fisheries Group meeting podcast - pollack on the agenda!

SW RFG Meeting 

Agenda for next week’s SW RFG meeting on Tuesday 4th February 

Agenda

• Welcome & Introductions Emily Theobald (Chair/MMO) 10 mins 
•  Pollack clarity Helen Stevens, Katie Plumridge & Andy Welberry (Defra) 35 mins 
•  Quota Q&A Katie James (MMO) 15 mins 
•  FISP Pollack Project Ed Baker (PFSA) & Simon Thomas (York Uni) 15 mins 
•  Cefas Pollack Study Ewen Bell (Cefas) 10 mins 
•  Crab & Lobster FMP update Sarah Bedingham (MMO) 10 mins 
•  IFCA byelaw Sam Davis (CIFCA) 10 mins 
•  AOB Emily Theobald (Chair/MMO) 5 mins

NFFO says, "It’s all a load of Pollacks!"

Pollack trials are currently running through Cefas and Plymouth University.

A recent meeting of the Southwest Regional Fishing Group highlighted how fisheries are still facing huge challenges with the lack of access to pollack, a mainstay of many fleet sectors.

There is still a lack of clarity on what a longer-term strategy looks like on how the stocks will recover and how commercial fisheries can remain viable when access to resources is being eroded at every turn. Last year saw a Zero TAC advice from ICES which resulted in a small bycatch allowance for the UK fleet. The aim of the advice was to allow the stock size to recover by 20%, an integral step on the road to full recovery. However, ICES advice for 2025 is still a Zero TAC with a reduced bycatch allowance compared to 2024, for example Area 7 has seen a 17% reduction in bycatch TAC for 2025. Therefore, it can be assumed that the Zero TAC advice is not working, despite the overwhelming impacts to the sectors that relied on pollack as the backbone of their business. We have to ask ourselves why this stringent measure, the most restrictive advice to come from ICES, is not working.

It was felt by all commercial fisheries in the meeting that the reason for this is the complete lack of control the recreational sector is under. ICES acknowledges that recreational removals of Pollack is likely to be a large component of the catch. This was supported by scientists (from the Pollack FISP project) presenting at the RFG as a reasonable assessment that reflects what their data shows. Data from the Pollack FISP that was presented, highlighted that a single recreational charter landed 400kg of pollack in a single trip, it is hard to believe that this is purely for personal consumption. Whilst this was an outlier, average catch of pollack by recreational fishers taking part in the project was 40kg/trip over 807 trips – a potential total removal of over 32 tonnes from the subset of vessels sampled as part of the project.

We have to ask if pollack fisheries are truly considered to have a zero TAC when recreational removals are so great and currently uncontrolled. Defra are keen to roll out voluntary guidelines for the recreational sector to help get a handle on the issue and they wish to give the guidelines a chance to work before seeking further restrictions. The reason for this, as always, a lack of data. However, the Pollack FISP, funded by Defra to the amount of £859,400 is essentially already providing substantial evidence to the scale of the problem. Commercial fisheries see the precautionary principle used when data is lacking, why is this not the same for recreational fisheries, surely this established method should be applied to all removals.

It is a growing concern that commercial fisheries always feel the most impact when compared to the needs of the recreational sector. This is not specific to pollack but is evidenced in bass fisheries and also the fact recreational take of crustacean fisheries is excluded from welfare concerns that are applied to commercial fisheries. In the new world of the UK Fisheries Act and fisheries management plans, we would expect to see more effort given to understanding and controlling the recreational sector to create a level playing field with the commercial sector.

Visit the NFFO website.