Monday morning in Newlyn.

One things for sure, the roads won't be jammed with September trippers headed for any of the local beaches...

so hopefully they will head for any of the dozens of local restaurants and pubs that serve freshly landed fish like these brill from the market on Newlyn...

at this time of year sardines are a must-have...

so you would do well to head for 45 Queen Street in Penzance where they currently do a top job with their sardines and chermoula...

there were seine caught spurdogs...

from the Acionna...

and whole monk...

looks like these big Mediterranean octopus are here to stay...

beautiful handline caught bass...

and blackjacks from the Maverick...

a box of the best...

a handful of haddocks...

and, if John Dory are your thing, then there's no better place to head...

than The Shore in Penzance, especially as there may well also be freshly cured bluefin tuna on the menu too...

won't be long before that 'box of the best' is making its way back to Pysk Fish headquarters in Falmouth...

the Karl fleet at rest...

those sardines scales get everywhere it seems...

two sail boats with classic lines graced the pontoon berths over the weekend...

while the not-so-classical lines of the two biggest sterns in the port lie side-by-side this morning at high water...

looks like a couple of hours mending, or more, still to do on Danny's big sardine net...

local artist Robert Jones perfectly capturing the handline fleet at sea fishing for mackerel back in the day - more of his work can be seen in the Thomas Henry gallery in the heart of Newlyn.

 

Fish of the week 35 - plaice

 

Every plaice has a different number of spots, sometimes almost none and unique colour range.

That spotty favourite! Plaice are caught in demersal trawls, beam trawls and, to a lesser extent in gill nets. The main fishery occurs 20 miles off the North Coast of Cornwall where place spawn during February and March. The peak landings occur during this time and in September.

Plaice stocks have increased dramatically over recent years and stocks are now well above sustainable levels. fishing pressure reduced for several years but since 2015 it has increased significantly off the south coast but its still within precautionary levels. It is within sustainable levels off the north coast. Plaice is a versatile and often affordable flatfish that we should all be eating more of. 

In 2021 a total of 168 tonnes of Plaice were landed to Cornish ports with a value of £469k (MMO data) according to the Cornwall Good Seafood Guide where you can find more information on this lovely eating fish.

Plaice are right eyed flatfish that live on the seabed where they are well camouflaged, being able to change colour to match their surroundings. They are opportunistic feeders living on small invertebrates such as crabs, worms and crustaceans. During the daytime they are often inactive, hiding in sand, emerging at night time to feed.

Eating plaice:

These tasty fish figure in every fish cook book. The flesh is a brilliant white when cooked and many recipes call for the fish to be cooked whole on the bone. They can be readily interchanged with Dover sole, lemon sole or other flatfish recipes.

Fine #FishyFriday in Newlyn

 

The SeaFit team and other health practitioners are in Newlyn again today...

like this cormorant, keeping an eye on local fishermen as they go about their day in the Bay...

and it's not a bad start to the day either...

with the market chocka with fish...

like these cracking hake from the netter Ygraine...

and the Silver Dawn...

together with ever present spurdogs...

alweys good to see some of the old timers like Magic still going strong directing operations on the market this morning...

amongst the sharks...

young Roger will have been disappointed with this slack haul of John Dory...

inshore boats land a good mix of fish and shellfish...

three boxes at a time, there's no stopping the man it seems...

while young Tom seems to have hot on a few golden beauties...

others are waiting for some scraps...

monk would go down well no doubts...

haddock are back on the menu again...

there are a few megs to go round...

from the beamers that landed...

the handliners found a few mackerel, mainly off St Ives...

along with plenty of bass...

to keep the guys happy...

along with the much harder to find or rather catch, sardines...

testament to the handliners efforts...

from the likes of Gary on the Bethshan

and still they come...

busy enough on the market...

as the sun breaks through...

no doubt it will be rocing again tonight in the Swordfish with the rugby set to keep the troops entertained...

she's looking shiny!..

as the lifeboat exactly where she should be...

any boxes missing?..

there's light on the pontoon access...

rumour has it they plan to paint the iconic red light at the end of Gwavas Quay black to comply with the regulations for lights no longer deemed relevant...

just a slight haze across the bay...

just some of the fleet at rest...

a young gull halfway through losing their first set of feathers...

a slightly piratical look...

young Richard is off to PZ to give the bottom a scrub for the day as the forecast is giving it scuffly later...

there's a few big mullet still cruising the harbour...

Cape Cornwall's fleet of gigs at rest.