Through the Gaps! - Newlyn Fishing News Cornwall UK fish commercial fishing fish cooking and art

Monday, 1 August 2022

Steph of Ladram in collision south of the Scillys - all OK.

At around 1am on Sunday morning the Steph of Ladram (ex-Sapphire III)

was fishing south of the Scillys...

when she was involved in a collision with a coaster, suffering damage to her port derrick...

and gantry. Luckily, none of the five crew were injured and the skipper was able to secure the trawls alongside before making way, at reduced speed, to Newlyn. Before arrival, three additional hands were taken on board from Penlee all-weather Lifeboat after which both beam trawls were dropped on the sea bed in Mounts Bay to be recovered at a later date. She is currently being prepared for repair.

Sunday, 31 July 2022

Great news! Cornish fishing benefits from newly trained crew.

The improved and refined course to train new commercial fishing crew has successfully graduated all nine candidates last week. The trainees were not all sure about fishing or seafood as a career until they attended a taster event in May or June where they learned about the reality of working in fishing. To explode the myths and give an authentic view of opportunities these Taster Events included a harbour tour, vessel tours and dialogue with representatives from the fishing sector, including skippers from the Cornish Fish Producer Organisation.

The graduates spent 15 days training on the Introduction to Commercial Fishing course, delivered by Seafood Cornwall Training in Newlyn. The course was first created 12 years ago, and learning has been overhauled and updated by Seafish. New units joined the existing delivery and included financial management for self- employed fishermen, chilling and stowage of the catch on board, as well as net making and mending.

These newly refreshed training units gave some of the trainees a chance to show their flair and discover aspirations to learn more. By adding these units, the completion of the 15 days gave all trainees a good grounding across the catching sector. They learned about topics such as fisheries management, vessel operation, caring for the catch, watchkeeping, navigation, fishing vessel engines and gear operation. Trainees also gained routes towards the type of fishing and working that would suit them.

In addition, the trainees have achieved their qualifications in the four mandatory sea safety training in Sea Survival, First Aid, Fire Fighting and Health & Safety which allows them to take a berth and work on board fishing vessels. The ICF course is currently fully funded for participants, thanks to grants secured by Seafish from the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA).

Take a look at the training programme and talk to us about funding opportunities to support a wide range of training courses.

https://www.seafoodcornwalltraining.co.uk/course-dates/

Saturday, 30 July 2022

UK needs Department of Maritime Affairs says leading Fisheries Consultan

Listen to this hugely important Fishing Daily podcast from Terri Portmann, fighting the corner for all inshore fishermen throughout the UK who are having to deal with a massive increase in legislation, monitoring and control like never before.

Terri Portmann is a Fisheries Consultant from Plymouth on the southwest coast of England. Terri has been a lifelong advocate for the fishing industry and has appeared to give evidence in front of Parliamentary Committees, and is actively involved in campaigning for a positive change in public and government attitudes towards fish and the industry.

In this podcast Terri tells Oliver of her upbringing in Looe, Cornwall that forever shaped her relationship with the fishing and seafood industries.

On Thursday 21 July 2022, Terri wrote an open letter to the Secretary of State for Defra, George Eustice, stressing the need for him to call for a root and branch review of the Marine Management Organisation (MMO), which she and many others in the industry feel is a state body no longer fit for purpose, and is currently wasting taxpayers’ money on endless consultations and reviews that are unnecessary if the correct procedures were carried out properly in the first place.

Terri gives the Inshore Vessel Monitoring System (I-VMS) rollout and the CatchApp (an app designed for submitting the estimated weight of fish before landing) as two examples where the MMO simply did not meet the standard required.

Another issue facing the industry is the weight of new legislation being foisted on small-scale inshore fishermen. After the CatchApp and I-VMS, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency are demanding that small boat owners increase the safety standards onboard their crafts. Because of this, the inshore fleet are facing an uncertain future, as the costs involved are above what many boat owners can afford. Also misinterpreted enactment of regulations in relation to safety legislation have been recognised but, all in all between everything, it has been a mentally strenuous time for these fishermen.

With so many Departments and government bodies involved in the fishing industry, Oliver asks Terri if it might be time for the government to consider an amalgamation that would leave life easier for fishermen.

Friday, 29 July 2022

Final #FishyFriday in July!

Not a bad start to the day at 6:30 am...

check out these superb summer season red mullet...

when not seen together blonde and spotted rays are easily confused as the size of the spots can vary hugely...

the spots on spotted rays go all the way to the edge of the wings...

one day there will once again be a fishery for congers...

a brace of end-of-season spiders...

young Mr Smith landed a top quality dollop of line caught pollack...

as bass go, these are the best...

summer is here and so are the Cornish sardines - check your local Morrisons...

band of blues-brothers...

Little Graham at speed...

the Imogen still knows better than any other how to catch those JDs...

squid fishing is still a tad slack though...

today's selection of inshore trawl fish, the best in the west...

the Maverick in the fleet.

Thursday, 28 July 2022

Newlyn Lobster Hatchery back in action.

After several years out of commission the Newlyn lobster hatchery is back up and running with enough funding to keep it re-stocking the waters around Penwith with juvenile lobsters...

Here, Dr Carly Daniel checks over thousands of newly hatched lobsters some of which have only hatched in the last 24 hours...

at this stage (Stage 1) the tiny fish, just 10mm long are kept in tubs along with their siblings, aerated seawater and fed a diet that is constantly being modified as ongoing research determines the most effective to promote healthy growth...

at stage 4, after several moults, the lobsters have to be kept separated as by now they are capable of determining in which direction they can swim - and lobsters are most definitely cannibalistic - given the chance eventually there would only be one very well fed lobster left in the tank if left to their own devices...

once stage 5 has been reached the lobsters are now said to be truly benthic and able to survive in close proximity to the bottom of the sea where they able to protect themselves by burying in the sand...

it is at this stage that they are released into various suitable locations around the Penwith coast in order to best distribute the young and help grow the local lobster population and enable sustainable fishing for the future......

the second of the two converted shipping containers on the Stone Quay are home to the hatchery itself where the 'buried' female lobsters with a belly full of eggs...

each have their won tank in which to reach the hatching stage - each tank identifies the date and fisherman who provided the lobster, in this case, Andrew Stevens who fishes from Newlyn with his boat, Benediction...

this gallery of images captures a day in the life of an inshore lobsterman.

Tuesday, 26 July 2022

Fishing Survey - Trust relations between fishermen Defra, IFCAs and the MMO.

The last few years have seen a rapid rise in the breadth and depth of rule changes, legislation and regulation heaped on the catching side of the industry - from the implementation of ILO188 to the introduction of a plethora of rules and monitoring for the very smallest vessels - which make up 80% of the fleet

This very short survey will help assess attitudes to the three main organisations that affect the lives of thousands of fishermen on a day-to-day basis. It will give a view based on data rather than the often negative responses seen on social media throughout the K.

Once you have read the information at the start, please use this chance to take the survey - there are only three main questions to answer.