Despite the weather, there was plenty of fish on the market in Newlyn this morning!

Work and pleasure go together, Richard's two loves nestling side-by-side on the pontoons...

while the sardine fleet are tied up - catches from the fleet across the board are down around 90% in October...

master-craftsmen at work, mind yer fingers Pete!..

the Canners Slip has been very busy of late, it plays a key role in providing a convenient place for the smaller boats like the punt Rachel & Paul to come out of the water for work below the waterline...

and Saturday was no exception...

the harbour are looking to improve the facilities there by  providing water and electricity on tap along with a drying out area that will allow the boats to work below the waterline without having to heel the boat over on successive tides...

these granite quoins have seen some action over the years...

 

as have the gaps as the fleet gets back to sea on Saturday morning, out with the Govenek of Ladram...

St Georges...

and the Louisa N...

wind the clock forward to Monday morning (after not having forgotten to wind the clock back on Sunday) and there is plenty of fish on the market including this 148kg bluefin tuna landed by Ben aboard the Beryl M...

buried under ice, plenty more beam trawl fish...

ray wings...

and brill...

with plenty of plaice...

and the first shot of sardines for some time courtesy of the Inter-Nos...

as ever, plenty of Dovers...

and seemingly still no sign of the octopus landings dropping off, this from one of the crabbers...

shiny, shiny lobsters under hemp...

a myriad of black bream...

that's a solid weekend's work from young Will...

with a better run than for some time...

and a bonus shot of jigged squid to go with the mackerel...

outside the market Stevensons shore staff including head auctioneer Ian are busy landing the Billy Rowney while...

astern, are the boys from the Rowse family firm landing their newest crabber, Michael Edward...

all under the panoramic vista of some slightly damp looking skies!

Play a leading role in shaping the future of Cornish fishing and seafood sector!

The Cornwall Fisheries Science Board (CFSB) is a pioneering partnership between the Cornish Fish Producers Organisation (CFPO), scientists, fisheries managers, and other experts, working together to deliver evidence-based, sustainable fisheries management for Cornwall.

The CFSB membership currently comprises of CFPO, Cornwall Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority (IFCA), Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), Marine Management Organisation (MMO), Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS), and International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES).

The CFPO are now seeking a Fisheries Science & Policy Lead to coordinate the Board’s work, driving collaborative research, influencing policy, and ensuring Cornish science and fishing and seafood industry expertise help shape the future of Cornwalls fishing industry.

Click here for all the details and how to apply.

Boats battle back to Newlyn from storm Benjamin

The increasing tendency for the rise in house prices to force locals out of the housing market affects fishing in many ways; if you own a small or any boat in Newlyn you need to be on hand 24/7 to make sure all is well with your boat- especially when the weather conditions change for the worse - bailing out your punt is one such task with the incessant rain...

there are those who revel when a storm does pass through like these hardy surfers taking advantage of Newlyn's famous 'Graveyard wave'...

there are rocks and man-made rocks...

despite the weather new harbour building continues to grow...

thought the addition of the external wall cladding will no doubt  make life easier from now on...

they say there's gold at the end of every rainbow, though in Cod's case he's heading out in his red punt Butts for silver rather than gold, or maybe just mackerel after storm Benjamin left a big ground sea running in the Bay...

there's always one on the lookout on the prom for a cheeky snack from an unsuspecting tripper...

and we're off!...

early doors for #FishyFriday morning and all is quiet...

with only the Crystal Sea's fish on the market...

and a few dozen boxes from some hardy inshore boats who beat the stormy conditions to land some cracking shellfish...

monk tails...

red and black bream...

stiff as-you-like red mullet...

and the odd bass...

and a gurnard or two...

time for young Nathan to whisk the morning's catch away...

just some of Cod's post storm efforts from yesterday evening...

those crabbers always need bait from the bigger boats...

eventually, dawn breaks over the harbour...

and the merchants close the door on the van before heading back to base, or in this case, Port Isaac...

Benjamin was too much even for the bigger boats...

and the crabbers...

the classic lines of the Guiding Light and the other one.

Stop demonising fishing industry, SFF chief tells eNGOS

 

The leader of Scotland’s largest fisheries organisation last night urged environmental lobbyists to stop demonising the industry.

Chief executive of the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation Elspeth Macdonald said eNGOS were increasingly resorting to ideological purity and gross oversimplification of complex issues, misrepresenting fishermen to the wider public.

She told guests at the Federation’s annual dinner at The Scotsman Hotel in Edinburgh: “Complexity is the enemy of the punchy slogan and the online campaign.

“Distilling complexity down into only black and white, bad and good, doesn’t leave time, space or bandwidth for getting under the bonnet of these difficult issues.

“Food production, nature protection and restoration, climate change adaptation, scientific uncertainty, people, jobs and socio-economics – all are part of the rich tapestry of fisheries and where many factors have to be balanced and trade-offs made.

“But some environmental NGOs seem to have little interest in anything other than continual catastrophising – because that’s what keeps the grant funding flowing in. It appears they feel they have little to gain by being collaborative and working with others to find compromise and solutions.”

With Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands Mairi Gougeon in attendance for the last time before she stands down at May’s parliamentary election, Ms Macdonald spoke about the Scottish Government’s introduction of fisheries management measures in offshore Marine Protected Areas (MPAs).

“These measures were many years in the making, and are the culmination of a long process where the Scottish Government, the fishing industry, conservation bodies and NGOs worked collaboratively and constructively to find compromise and pragmatic solutions that will allow the conservation objectives of the sites to be met, whilst still permitting fishing activity over parts of the sites.

“This decision holds true to the government’s original premise on MPAs of more than a decade ago, and we commend them for holding true to this commitment.

“This was a fair decision, one that we were able to broadly support and one that showed the real benefit of working together in a trusted process, and co-designing solutions that work for nature and for business.

“We very much hope that the same pragmatic and balanced approach will prevail with the inshore MPAs and Priority Marine Features, which will be the subject of consultation before the end of this year, but when decisions are unlikely to be taken before the elections in May.

“Sadly it is unlikely that some of the environmental NGOs in this arena now would be so pragmatic. It seems increasingly to be the case that ideological purity has overtaken compromise and trade-offs, and gross oversimplification of complex issues must prevail.”

She pointed out that Fishing has been integral to Scotland’s society, culture, economy and indeed palate for hundreds of years.

“But as we enter the second quarter of the 21st century, our fishermen – and Scotland’s ability to produce renewable, healthy food from our seas - are under threat as never before.

“Scotland’s fishing sector has evolved over many generations to fish efficiently and effectively, making seafood affordable and accessible. It has long been a goal of successive governments to encourage and enable people in Scotland to eat more fish, for their own and for wider population health, to help reduce the burden of dietary related illness.

“Let’s debate the good, the bad and indeed the ugly, but let’s not demonise any one form of food production, when we have a growing global population with a growing demand for protein and an ever-increasing burden of ill-health related to poor diet.”