The harbour is full of boats and the storm hasn't even arrived yet.

It's not just the small visiting beam trawlers chasing soles...

but also some of the biggest in the Brixham fleet like the Georgina, William and Julie of Ladram

along with the biggest beam trawler in the south west, the Enterprise...

the Charisma has had a name change to the Charisma of Ladram reflecting her change of ownership in joining the rest of the Ladram fleet...

the Lucy Too makes her way back to a berth...

passing dwarfed by PZ99...

plenty of work still be done on the Twilight III...

the MCA has recently posted an M Notice asking skippers to check hydrostatic releases fittings...

a sure sign the weather is poor, there's a French boat in port...

looking at the forecast the trawls on these three won't be being dragged along the sea bed for a day or two yet ...

the weather means the guys on the Unity can set to mending their twin rig trawls.

 

These guys need more than words.

Even when MPs get the chance to talk directly to a fishermen - in this case skipper David Stevens was sat in the wheelhouse of his trawler - they still seem unable to do anything other than espouse the party line. How on earth is that kind of response going to help him (having recently invested several million pounds in a new vessel) or all the other skippers affected by the deal? These guys don't need platitudes, the fishing support grant - if eligible - is just sticking plaster over a gaping wound.

Scale your brill and buy tinned whiting - God help us!

Spoiler Alert - It's not April the 1st! (though you might not believe it)

If it wasn't so serious, this new £200,000 advertising campaign from the Government urging the population to eat more fish would be funny - but it is not - funny that it is.

How can they get it this wrong?

For instance, the campaign material suggests:

• you need to scale brill - brill don't have scales
• you can buy tinned brill?
• you can buy tinned whiting? 
• you should keep Dover sole for a few days so the flesh becomes firm
• you can buy Atlantic Wolf fish - there's never been one landed in Newlyn and  there will be only a handful of UK boats, if any, catch them on a regular basis
• and you buy turbot, monkfish and scallops - well with a big enough food budget sure - buy most people to eat on a regular basis?

Obviously well intentioned but who or where on earth did they go to get their market research - let's hope it wasn't anyone at Seafish who are normally responsible for marketing fish in the UK who now, as a result of Brexit, are free to promote British fish in a way they were, so we were led to believe, unable to do while we were in the EU.

To dismiss the mistakes in this campaign as 'trivial' is an insult to all the fishermen and women who put their lives on the line every time they go to sea to put food on our plates. 'Tinned brill' my arse.

PS There's a prize for a photograph of tinned brill or whiting on a UK supermarket shelf - and no Photoshopping!

Amy goes Gill netting.

After her cutting her fishing career teeth aboard the sardine boat Golden Harvest Amy has just completed her first trip gill netting...

 for hake aboard the Joy of Ladram fishing some fifty miles south west of Newlyn...

and here she is telling the story of that first trip in her own words.

EU fisheries can only sustainably manage fish stocks if they are accurately measured

Our regular #Spanish friend landing (probably under No @The_MMO supervision) #UkWaters 🐟 into #EU transport!! #BrexitBallsUp @MPGeorgeEustice @DerekThomasUK @DefraGovUK @DavidGHFrost pic.twitter.com/4RW8R730rq

— NewlynFishing (@NewlynFishing) March 9, 2021

As another UK flagged Spanish trawler lands her catch to a waiting lorry which will transport her fish back to Spain:

This week, Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) will take part in a vote that will prove crucial for the future of our seas and the communities that depend on them.

This vote aims to amend the Fisheries Control Regulation, the EU system for monitoring, inspection and enforcement of fisheries in EU waters and the global operations of the fishing fleet of the EU. The control regulation is essential to enable fishermen, policy makers and civil society to count the fish caught in our seas and to monitor the impact of fishing activities on fragile marine ecosystems.

Any changes to these regulations should improve the sustainability and long-term prospects of our ocean and fishermen. However, if MEPs vote to accept all of the revisions currently being proposed by the European Parliament’s Committee on Fisheries (PECH), they could endorse a step backwards for EU fisheries policy.

For example, the PECH Commission proposal to increase the margin of error in reporting catches by the fishing industry could lead to massive under-reporting and overfishing and could allow up to two-fifths of the fish caught. in the EU not to be counted. This would completely undermine the EU’s biodiversity strategy and undermine the EU’s credibility as a global leader in ocean governance, including its zero tolerance approach to illegal fishing, unreported and unregulated (IUU) by countries outside the EU.

Another example concerns the committee’s proposal to reject the mandatory use of electronic technology, such as CCTV cameras, to help record fish catches, despite their successful adoption, and significant financial benefits for fishermen who do so. use in Europe and other jurisdictions such as Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United States.

By adopting these methods, the EU Fisheries Control Regulation has the potential to make responsible and sustainable fishing possible in EU seas; provide not only a complete record of fish caught, but also the impact of fishing activities on sensitive and protected species such as marine mammals and seabirds.

A decision not to adopt these new technologies could see the EU fisheries sector missing out on job creation opportunities and the digital and green transition of the EU Green Deal.

The Control Regulation has been the cornerstone of the Common Fisheries Policy since 2010. However, significant weaknesses or gaps were identified by the European Court of Auditors in 2017, which called for more efforts in the control of EU fisheries, including the reliability of reported catch data.

On Wednesday, it is imperative that MEPs from all European countries vote in favor of amendments ensuring that our monitoring system accurately counts the fish in our seas and measures the impact of fishing activities on our fragile marine ecosystems. By supporting the use of these new monitoring tools, MEPs can help ensure a transition from the European Green Deal towards sustainable fisheries, healthy seas and thriving coastal communities.

The European Coalition for Fisheries Control, made up of non-profit organizations across Europe, calls on MEPs to support four key measures during the vote on the revision of the control regulation on March 10:

● Remote electronic monitoring (REM) must be made compulsory, to ensure accurate records of everything we catch, including sensitive and protected species. The REM, which includes the use of on-board cameras, is internationally recognized as a reliable, cost-effective and scalable way to support well-managed, responsible and sustainable fisheries.

● Keep track of unwanted catches, including protected and sensitive species. Dolphins, seabirds, turtles and other susceptible species die in the thousands every year due to accidental catches in EU fishing nets. By recording where and when bycatch takes place, fishermen across the EU can participate in finding solutions.

● Make sure every fish caught is taken into account. This measure runs counter to a proposal by the PECH Committee to increase flexibility that would allow up to two-fifths of catches to go unreported in official records, completely undermining accountability and accurate reporting of catches.

● Ensure transparency of EU Member States on how they control their fisheries. This measure aims to change the current scenario from a scenario where Member States can currently veto the disclosure of fisheries information for no reason, to a scenario where full transparency is required.

The EU Fisheries Control Coalition is a leading NGO alliance that works with organizations and individuals across Europe to ensure a fisheries control system that protects ocean health and resources. navies for generations to come.

Bugaled-Breizh: they hope for "the right course" for the Inquest.

 

(Photo Le Télégramme / Pascal Bodéré) 

Dominique Launay, Jacques Losay and Thierry Lemétayer are counting on their new lawyers to convince the English courts to dismiss the report of the Sea Accident Investigation Bureau which retained the hypothesis of a soft crookedness. This Friday, March 12, relatives of the sailors who disappeared in the sinking of the Bugaled Breizh will be connected to the London court where the English investigation restarts. Their goal: to revive the hypothesis of the involvement of a submarine in the drama. Dominique Launay, Jacques Losay and Thierry Lemétayer are counting on their new lawyers to convince the English courts to dismiss the report of the Sea Accident Investigation Bureau which retained the hypothesis Dominique Launay, Jacques Losay and Thierry Lemétayer are counting on their new lawyers to convince the English courts to dismiss the report of the Sea Accident Investigation Bureau which retained the hypothesis of a soft crookedness. 

Bugaled Breizh  entering Newlyn

While waiting for the “Inquest” which is to be held next October, this Friday hearing is one of the last occasions for the relatives of the missing sailors to make their conviction heard: on January 15, 2004, it is a submarine which caused the sinking of the Bugaled Breizh opposite Cape Lizard, during anti-submarine warfare exercises by NATO and Royal Navy forces.

Rule out the BEA Mer hypothesis

It is the judges of the London court, where the proceedings were relocated, who will thus hear the arguments of those close to the Bugaled. The families of Yves Gloaguen and Pascal Le Floch, the two sailors of the Bugaled whose bodies had been recovered from British waters, will be represented but open hearings will be allowed via an internet connection. "We hope that British justice will finally take the right course", launch Jacques Losay, director of the film "The silent killer", Thierry Lemétayer, son of Georges (who disappeared in the drama) and Dominique Launay, president of the SOS Bugaled association -Breizh.

All three will be connected on Friday. They are counting on their new lawyers, French and English, to convince the English courts to dismiss the report of the Sea Accident Investigation Bureau (BEA Mer), to date held across the Channel. A report which explains the sinking by a soft hook of the Bugaled's fishing tools in the sand of the seabed, a burial. “As if a heavily loaded trawl could softly stop a 150 ton boat!“. Ironically those close to him, recalling that this report from the BEA Mer had created an outcry in the maritime world when it was released in 2006.

Hear the commanding officer of HMS Turbulent Relatives of the victims therefore hope that their lawyers will convince the British to investigate the involvement of a submarine. If they do not rule out the hypothesis of the involvement of an American spy vessel, they especially hope for a new consideration of the elements concerning HMS Turbulent, SNA of the Royal Navy long suspect number one. The Bretons would like the commander at the time, Andrew Coles, to be heard, the commander who had advised them to question the crew of the French submarine Le Rubis "to find out more". They also want new investigations on HMS Dolfijn, the Dutch SNA seen in the area and whose men may not have said everything,

Dossier on the case of the Bugaled Breizh

Fishery Protection vessel boards Dutch seine netters south of the Scillys.

After being given the go-ahead to board EU vessels it looks like the Fishery Protection vessel may have paid a visit to...

 

the Dutch seine netters Lub Senior...

and UK150 Polar this morning after they had both returned to fish south of the Scillys after they landed their previous trips into Cherbourg over the weekend.