The "Great British Fish Gap"

Eight in 10 shoppers say retailers should make it easier to identify British goods in stores. A poll of 2,000 adults found 59 per cent would prefer to buy produce that is grown, made, or harvested in Britain. Eggs, milk, potatoes, and fish are the items those polled are most inclined to seek out.

Competitive pricing (57 per cent), supporting British businesses (51 per cent), and food safety standards (47 per cent) are the top factors that would influence shoppers to buy from local suppliers.

There is a feeling among the public that both the government (76 per cent) and supermarkets (77 per cent) need to do more to support British fishermen and food producers as well. The need to know where produce comes from is certainly something that shoppers look at, with 48 per cent stating they check labels on food they pick up.

The research, commissioned by Discover Seafood, an initiative run by The Fishmongers’ Company, is urging UK supermarkets to stock more British species in order to meet consumer demand for local produce and support fishermen from these shores.

Gavin O’Donnell from the project said: “There is lots of great local produce available to consumers, but knowing where to find it can be a struggle.

“It’s clear demand is there for food grown, caught and harvested in the UK so where is the support from retailers?

“There needs to be a better balance between being competitive on price and opening up opportunities for both the consumer and the producer.

“In terms of seafood, many lesser known British species are highly nutritious and affordable - so why is there not more of it on the shelf?”

When it comes to seafood, 68 per cent would buy more produce that was clearly labelled as British in a supermarket according to the OnePoll data.

He added: “Many local species are caught and never make it to supermarket shelves.

“The sad reality is that most of the fish that’s found in UK supermarkets is imported.

“Retailers are reluctant to price match popular species like Cod and Haddock in support of British fishermen against fish from abroad.”

This results in low awareness of what local fish is on offer in UK waters, with consumers seemingly unfamiliar with species such as hake (21 per cent) megrim sole (six per cent) and gurnard (10 per cent).

And with 30 per cent of those who buy or eat seafood saying access to a wider variety of local species would make them eat more British, there’s plenty of room for growth in the home market.

Gavin O’Donnell from Discover Seafood added: “This research reveals a huge missed opportunity for consumers and retailers.

“Consumers have a low awareness of the range of British seafood, many say a wider choice would encourage them to eat more and this could be a sales driver for supermarkets.

“There is an opportunity for everyone to explore what the UK seafood industry can offer.

“It benefits local producers, and supermarkets can help drive awareness of what’s local to the UK by expanding their offering.

“This would allow consumers to enjoy more high-quality local food.”

Imagining the Fishing: Artists and Fishermen in Late Nineteenth Century Cornwall

An interesting paper by Beranrd Deacon titled, Imagining the Fishing: Artists and Fishermen in Late Nineteenth Century Cornwall

Read the full paper here:

Department of Lifelong Learning, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK.

Abstract:

The focus of postmodernist historians on language and representation clashes with the more traditional approach of the social historian to material structures and processes. This article adopts the suggestion of Wahrman that a 'space of possibilities' exists where these apparently competing perspectives might be connected. The concept of a 'space of possibilities' is pursued through a case study of a marginal group, the fishing communities of west Cornwall in the late nineteenth century. The article explores points of contact and contrast between the artistic and the fishing communities, between the painterly gaze and the subjects of that gaze. It is proposed that, while the artistic colonies and their representations might be explained as a result of discourses reproduced in the centre, their specific choice of location in Cornwall can also be related to the local economic and social history that granted them a space of possibilities. 

The Art of Fishing in Cornwall – A Historical and Contemporary Perspective

Cornwall, with its stunning coastline and rich maritime history, has always been a significant hub for the fishing industry. The relationship between artists and fishermen in this region, particularly during the late 19th century, offers a fascinating lens through which we can explore the narrative of fishing—not just as an industry but as a way of life steeped in culture and community.

Capturing Life by the Sea

Historically, artists such as Stanhope Forbes and Henry Scott Tuke set up their easels along the Cornish shores, capturing the daily lives of fishermen through their romanticised depictions. Their works vividly illustrate the rigours of fishing, lounging fishermen, and the idyllic scenery of quaint fishing villages. However, these artistic portrayals often glossed over the hardships faced by these communities, presenting a timeless picture that sometimes overlooked the socio-economic realities of the time.

Among the more contemporary artists, Alfred Wallis stands out for his unique, naïve approach that transformed his personal experiences as a fisherman into captivating works of art. His paintings evoke not just the visual beauty of the sea but also resonate with the fisherman's spirit and the local community's struggles. Similarly, artists like Colin Scott and Bernard Evans have continued this tradition, drawing from the landscape and the lives of those who inhabit it to tell stories about the fishing communities.

As we navigate through the past, it’s essential to connect these artistic reflections with the lived experiences of the fishermen. Cornwall's fishing communities, particularly in Newlyn and St. Ives, grappled with the rise of industrial fishing practices and economic changes, leading to a decline in traditional methods that had defined their lives. The introduction of railway connections in 1859 opened up new markets, transforming fishing from a local necessity to a more commercial enterprise.

Bridging the Past and Present

Fast forward to today, the fishing industry in Cornwall faces different challenges, such as overfishing and environmental sustainability. The narrative has shifted significantly, moving from a simple portrayal of rustic life to a more nuanced examination of contemporary issues affecting fishermen. Modern artists are now engaging with themes that reflect both the beauty of Cornwall’s landscapes and the pressing realities these communities face in an age of climate change and industrialisation.

Artists like Ken Howard, Tim Hall, and Morgan Penn are redefining the fishing narrative through their works, often addressing the ecological ramifications of fishing practices and advocating for sustainability within the industry. Howard’s impressionistic style brings to life the fleeting moments of fishermen at work, while Hall and Penn incorporate modern perspectives that highlight the evolving challenges faced by coastal communities. This new wave of artistic expression serves as a bridge from the past, illuminating the evolution of fishing from quaint tradition to a critical focus on environmental responsibility.

Continuing the Conversation

The dialogue between artists and the fishing industry in Cornwall continues to thrive, representing an intersection of history and ongoing shifts in cultural, ecological, and societal contexts. Through their art, modern artists not only honour the traditional fishermen but also amplify current voices and concerns, ensuring that the narrative remains relevant and reflective of today’s world.

As we explore art through the gaps of history and modernity, we uncover layers of meaning that connect us to both the past and the present, fostering a deeper appreciation for the exquisite yet complex tapestry of the Cornish fishing life.

UK seafood makes a splash in Vietnam in major export boost

 

Vietnam grants market access for British live seafood products, opening new opportunities for growth and trade.

The UK seafood industry celebrates a breakthrough today (1 April) as Vietnam grants market access for British live seafood products, opening new opportunities for growth and trade.

The agreement unlocks significant opportunity for exports of live seafood from the UK to Vietnam, who are amongst the highest consumers of seafood per capita and the highest in South East Asia.

British seafood is known globally for its taste, quality, and rich heritage, and Vietnamese consumers will now have access to premium seafood products in their preferred live form sourced from the UK’s vibrant and vast coastline, including popular varieties such as lobster and brown crab.

These additions will enrich culinary options for Vietnamese consumers, who eat approximately 37kg of seafood per person each year, allowing them to experience the distinctive flavours and exceptional quality that have made British seafood renowned worldwide.

British seafood exports to Vietnam have already shown strong growth, with fresh, frozen, and processed products seeing a 40% increase in the first 9 months of 2024 compared to 2023.

In line with the Government’s priority of delivering economic growth and putting more money into working people’s pockets under the Plan for Change, this breakthrough creates new export opportunities that coastal communities across the length and breadth of the UK have pushed for in recent years. Unlocking the Vietnamese live seafood market will boost local economies and support jobs across Britain’s shorelines, contributing to nationwide economic growth.

Minister for Food and Rural Affairs Daniel Zeichner said:

This is a tremendous win for our seafood industry. By securing access to Vietnam’s thriving live seafood market, we’re opening new opportunities for British businesses while supporting jobs across the UK as part of our Plan for Change.

Our high-quality seafood is increasingly sought after worldwide, and this agreement demonstrates our commitment to get British exports moving by helping producers reach valuable international markets.

Minister for Exports Gareth Thomas said:

This is a welcome and significant breakthrough, opening up a new and lucrative market to live seafood exporters across the UK.

 We know that when businesses export the whole economy benefits. That is why this government will continue to support businesses by removing trade barriers to enable them to take advantage of export opportunities abroad to grow the economy at home.

Access to the Vietnamese market is estimated to generate around £20 million for the UK seafood industry over the next five years, according to the Shellfish Association of Great Britain (SAGB).

David Jarrad, CEO of Shellfish Association of Great Britain said:

We have been delighted to engage with government officials in the UK and Vietnam and help achieve this export agreement.

The opening of another market for our sector is great news for the industry and demonstrates the strong worldwide demand for the UK's quality live shellfish.

Vietnamese importers are willing to pay competitive prices for British seafood varieties that have less demand in UK and European markets, providing an important alternative revenue stream for dozens of seafood traders.

Through dialogue and collaboration with Vietnamese officials, Defra and the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) resolved concerns, cleared regulatory barriers, and showcased the high standards of British seafood production to create new opportunities for UK exporters.

These officials will work closely with the UK seafood sector and industry bodies to ensure a smooth transition into the Vietnamese market.

Five Belgian registered beam trawlers detained.

 

There was much interest in Mounts Bay on Wednesday this week when five Belgian beam trawlers were escorted into Mounts Bay off Newlyn - with ribs to-ing and fro-ing between the fisheries patrol vessels...

Trafalgar Sentinel and...

the Welsh FPV, Rhodri Morgan...

however, the detentions were short-lived and the boats including the Op Hoop Van Zegen...

and Z39 Sophie were soon on their way back to the fishing ground south east of the Smalls. As yet, the reason for the detentions is unknown.

April's first #FishyFriday in Newlyn

A cool start in more ways than one this morning, with almost 100% cloud cover...

not that would deter the resident seal from scouting for breakfast...

with a wild few days of weather ended the week just the two big boats put any kind of quantity of fish ashore including monk tails ...

and red mullet from the Enterprise...

a handful of line caught mackerel...

hake...

and whiting from the St Georges...

and a box of inshore grey mullet...

and bass from the small boats...

some top drawer John Dory should keep a handful of lucky restaurants happy...

but at the price fish made this fella won't be getting much breakfast tossed his way...

good to see the local lugger, Happy Return up on the slip...

for some timely below the waterline TLC...

looks like the two big crabbers are away to sea...

another resident looking for breakfast...

more slippery than a teasy conger eel...

a handful of inshore guys braved the choppy waters of the bay in the early hours of this morning with gales forecast for the weekend.

 

Excavator breaks ground and drains harbour

Boats were left sitting in the mud ...

or high-and-dry in Newlyn harbour yesterday...

why? - it is thought the leak was caused by an excavator working on the new Resource Centre foundations...

which is due for completion in 2036.

Fishing recruitment - the big debate! - join the APPG event live online this Wednesday at 1:30pm.

This coming Wednesday, the APPG has recruitment to the industry on its agenda - a huge issue facing the industry.

One aspect, and one that was visited on the industry out of the blue by the MCA, was making it an offence for anyone under the age of 16 to go to sea on a commercial fishing vessel. 

Tom Lambourn handlining with Barry Chivers

Wind the clock back to 2009, the blond youngster in this photo aboard Barry Chiver's punt is a 9year old, Tom Lambourn - Tom is currently skipper of the sardine boat Lyonesse and his own netter/potter, My Lass. Tom started fishing with Barry aged six, with just 6 hooks on his mackerel handline! After taking A levels and getting a university degree - he then returned to Newlyn to fish full time..

12-year old Eric and the crew of the Keriolet

This is the crew of the hake netter, Keriolet taken in '90s on Douarnenez fish market with an 8 ton trip of hake. The boat had been fishing in the Irish Sea, on their way to France to land they picked up the youngster, then aged 12, from Newlyn. Three days after leaving school aged 16 he was on the same boat headed away on his first trip. After seven years of fishing he moved over to working on seismic vessels all over the world and is currently working off Norway.

In the same photo, the St Ives fisherman in the red smock top is now the skipper of a North Sea supply vessel, these are his words:

"I started going on boats as soon as I could walk. I used to go in the winter mackerel catching on the Cornish Queen at about 9 years old. Also on the Castle Wraith with Jack Murt and Boako. Went out summer times on the Trazbar with Barney and Traz. And any boat that I could jump on for a day out. Was down the harbour skiffing with the Paynters from about 8 or 9 skiffing the visitors out to the Cornish Bell and Cornish Queen. First boat I worked on leaving school was the Bev-Van-Dan which was owned by Danny Paynter. Boy Billy (Stevenson) put the money up for that one."

It's 2009 and a 13-year old Tom Mursa is learning the ropes from Stuart McClary, one of St Ive's top handliners.

Here's what Tom has to say:  

I loved working with Stuart McClary and still do from time to time to lend a hand. I’ve come a long way since then. I now own the tripping pleasure boats in st Ives. The likes of Blue Thunder & Blue Lightning RIB Rides and the Seal Island Aquastar tripping boat.

But I will definitely say one thing. I would never been able to do what I do without being involved in the fishing industry as a youngster.

With Stuart I learnt how to handle a boat, how to tie knots and splice ropes. Make up moorings and of course learn the ground for fishing and wildlife.

This is a story that has been told the length and breadth of the UK coastline for centuries - and now wiped out. Who's to say without all those early times spent at sea the career choices of all those youngsters would have been very different?

These youngsters, like so many before them, often started their fishing careers before they had even attended school - fishing is not a job, it is a way of life and many of the skills it takes to be successful, as Tom says, are an intrinsic part of the way of life that is fishing - skils handed down generation after generation in some cases.

Below is the press release announcing the APPG meeting on Wednesday - one that you can sign up to attend online - have your say online by way of comments directy to the hosts via social media links below.

As an island surrounded by some of the most productive seas in the North East Atlantic, fishing has long formed the lifeblood of coastal communities in the UK – offering livelihoods at sea and onshore, contributing to local economies and culture, and providing healthy food for populations. Over the past five decades, the context within which the fishing industry operates has changed dramatically. In response, the industry has worked to evolve and meet sustainability objectives in support of future, thriving fisheries. Social sustainability, alongside ecological sustainability, is a key issue for the sector.

Top of that agenda, recruitment and retention have been cited as major challenges facing the UK fishing industry, as well as the wider seafood sector. Impacting the sector’s sustainability, these issues also have implications for the social resilience of fishing and coastal communities. With a greying fleet, the number of UK fishers has fallen by 1,700 over the past decade. Traditional training and recruitment pathways – from father to son; deckhand to skipper – are broken in many places. Unattractive or unavailable to new-entrants, entry to the sector is costly, training opportunities limited, and opportunities elsewhere seen as more attractive. The issue is felt along the length of the supply chain.

In this context, as with other sectors in the economy, the seafood sector has become increasingly reliant on labour from outside of the UK. However, concerns have arisen about the conditions faced by migrant workers and the risk of exploitation facing those who come to the UK to work. Efforts have been made by industry to address these concerns, and ensure the welfare of crews. At the same time, legislative measures relating to migrant workers have been deemed inappropriate by both industry representatives, and civil society organisations, with problems relating to skilled worker visas, alongside the use of transit visas, highlighted by both. Reputational damage to the industry has a reverberating effect on the industry’s attractiveness to new entrants at home.

With the Employment Rights Bill currently before Parliament and issues surrounding recruitment and retention to the industry set as a backdrop, this event will focus on the challenges surrounding labour facing both the catching and processing sectors. Providing an opportunity for constructive dialogue on these cross-cutting challenges and building on past dialogue, we will hear of recent efforts to address these issues, alongside measures needed from industry, civil society and government to chart a way forward that is attuned to the practicalities of fishing, and at the same time affords adequate rights and protections for all fishers, whilst also ensuring fishing is an attractive career prospect for workers both within and beyond the UK.

Addressing two inter-related issues with implications not only for the sector’s sustainability, but for the social resilience of fishing and coastal communities, the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Fisheries will host an event this Wednesday on challenges surrounding recruitment and labour facing the UK’s fishing and seafood industry.

Chaired by Melanie Onn MP, the online event, which will run from 1:30pm-3:00pm, will hear from:

• Neil McAleese, Head of Industry Workforce Issues, Seafis
• Juliette Hatchman, Chief Executive, South Western Fish Producers’ Organisation
• Andrew Brown, Director of Sustainability and Public Affairs, Macduff Shellfish
• Chris Williams, Fisheries Section Coordinator, International Transport Workers’ Federation
• Mike Park OBE, Chief Executive, Scottish Whitefish Producers' Association
• Matilda Phillips, The Young Fishermen’s Network and Chris Ranford, The Cornish Fish Producers’ Organisation

Providing an opportunity for constructive dialogue on these cross-cutting issues, as part of the discussion we will hear of recent efforts to address these challenges, and explore measures needed going forwards that are attuned to the practicalities of fishing and working in seafood, whilst also affording adequate rights and protections for those working in the sector, and ensuring the industry’s attractiveness as a career for workers both within and beyond the UK.

View the agenda here.

Contribute to the discussion on Twitter and LinkedIn using #Fishinglivelihoods, or find out more on the APPG on Fisheries website.