Afternoon tow

Acionna, Flying the flag for seafarers all over...

as the Danmark makes her way to Penzance harbour...

with a yacht under tow...

 

a four hour round trip for tug skipper Jeremy.

Sunny Sunday, misty Monday.

A gorgeous Sunday evening and the fleet head for the fish market to land...

then into Monday when the low cloud has lifted enough to see the far side of the harbour and the south pier...

there's even a fog in the fish market...

each netter landed a few of these this tide...

and a few of these,...

seen here is the Cornish version...

along with some good shots of hake from the Silver Dawn...

Britannia V...

and Ygraine

there's no escaping these guys it seems however hard the netters try...

some big flats from the beamer...

and JDs...

plenty of lemons...

and Dovers...

and a few good sized black bream

a big 200kg bluefin...

even though they seem to be yellow...

the one boat hit hardest by the pollack ban ironically now catches them as a part of a research project to see if stocks are viable...

plenty of these beauties coming ashore this weekend...

while mackerel came from St Ives...

and bass courtesy of young Cod from Mounts Bay...

in the shallow waters of the harbour there are shoals of small fish everywhere...

its more like aq lorry park down the quay as fuel tankers and transport wait to pick up shellfish and fish.

the number of visiting yachts is slowing down...

Ocean Pride up on the slip in low cloud...

the Channel Islands based, FTV Explorer is currently contrcated to deploy seabed cameras and sampling gear off lands End on behalf of Exeter University's marine department.

a few hours after high water and both these boats are aground - at the end of the Mary Williams pier.

'Anglers' get caught in the act in two separate but no doubt connected arrests off the north Cornish coast in one day.

 

In a previous life, the Lily Lola was an angling boat

A significant amount of cocaine was intercepted off the coast of Cornwall on Friday. Four men have been charged in connection with the seizure, which is believed to have been a major blow to an organised crime group. The drugs were found aboard the ex-angling boat, Lily Lola which was stopped off Newquay by NCA officers.

Later that day, three men were arrested after they ran their rib ashore on Gwynver beach near Lands End...

in an attempt to smuggle at least 240kg of cocaine ashore...

the rib was filmed in the act being pursued at speed by the NCA and then abandoned as the smugglers jumped from the rib and began running across the beach to escape - anyone who knows the beach in question would know that running up that hill at Gwynver to escape just isn't going to happen!..

on Saturday, the resident Newlyn harbour work boat, Danmark was tasked with retrieving the smuggler's rib...

which had been left stranded on the sandy beach...

the rib was successfully towed back round Lands End to Newlyn...

with a ton or more of sand on board...

the 6.7m Brig rib is powered by a 200hp Suzuki outboard - not quite enough hp it seems to outrun those guys at the NCA! One of these new would set you back over £70,000.

Skilled Worker Visa changes for the catching sector.

 

Skilled Worker Visa changes – impact on the seafood sector In December 2023, the then Prime Minister and Home Secretary announced plans to reduce net migration and resolve abuses of the UK immigration system.

The plan introduced proposed amendments to the operation of the Skilled Worker Visa (SWV) process. Last year Seafish published a series of SWV guides to provide a full overview of the legalities around the employment of migrant workers.

The plans announced at the end of 2023 will see changes made to the information previously provided.

These changes include:

• The minimum salary for recruiting a skilled worker from overseas on a SWV would increase from £26,200 to £38,700.

• The Shortage Occupation List (SOL) which allowed some job roles to be paid at a 20% reduction on the SWV rate, would be abolished in spring 2024. A new Immigration Salary Discount List (ISDL) will replace the SOL.

• The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC), an independent public body, was tasked with reviewing the roles that should be included on the ISDL and two fishing occupations were kept on the new ISDL list. This lowers the minimum salary threshold for these occupations to £30,960 for new SWV visa applicants, a discount of 20% on the new SKW rate.

• The minimum income threshold for a family visa, that is the amount a person must be earning before they can bring a family member or partner from abroad, increased from £18,700 to the £38,700 in line with the minimum SWV salary.

Previously, in October 2023, the UK Government had announced that the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) would also increase by 66% to £1,024 per annum which took effect on 6th February 2024. This directly increased the cost of the visa application process.

Collectively these changes will impact the businesses across the UK seafood supply chain.

In response to this change, Seafish has completed an Economic Impact Assessment using its existing fleet and processing data sets to assess the impact that the proposed increase to the Skilled Worker Visa (SWV) salary threshold could have on the UK seafood sector.

This analysis is underpinned by direct industry feedback collected by Seafish during late December 2023.

The seafood sector is heavily reliant on non-UK labour across both catching and processing sectors.

Any changes to the cost and complexity of accessing non-UK labour will have an impact on operating costs, and on business profitability and viability.

There will also be knock-on impacts to consumer prices, to the competitiveness of our export trade, and to businesses that support the seafood sector.

The impact assessment explores the impact upon the fleet, the processing sector, and collates evidence collected from the sectors. The assessment also considers potential amendments to the visa mechanisms. Finally, it provides models of the impact.

Image shows front covers of three Skilled Worker Visa guides

Seafish has completed an Economic Impact Assessment in response to changes relating to the Skilled Worker Visa process.

Key findings - catching sector

The fishing fleets most likely to be impacted by these changes, because a) they are reliant on non-UK labour and b) current average crew pay is below the proposed salary thresholds, are:

• The Nephrops fleet over 12m where currently 82% of vessels rely on non-UK crew and the average salary is £19,222.

• The demersal/beam trawl fleet over 12m where 52% of vessels rely on non-UK crew and the average salary is £34,266.

• The static gear fleet (e.g. crab potters) over 12m where 75% of vessels rely on non-UK crew and the average salary is £28,297.

The fleet most adversely affected by the policy change is the Nephrops fleet which could experience annual operating losses of between £41.5k and £83.5k per vessel, on average. Unless these losses are offset by increased prices, the changes could lead to vessel tie-ups and business closures, with a knock-on impact on scampi supply in the UK.

An assessment of the impact of the change on Nephrops prices indicates that to meet the revised salary of £38,700, the:

• Price paid per kg by processors/wholesalers to vessel operators would need to increase by 33%.

• Price that processors would charge retailers would need to increase by 14.5%.

• Price that processors would charge food service sector buyers would need to increase by 15.6%.

Enquiries on the SWV guidance process

Seafish has already published guides specifically tailored to seafood businesses, whether you are a fishing vessel, aquaculture business or a processing company, regardless of where you are based across the UK.

Sections of these guides are currently being edited to reflect the most recent changes but remain available on the Seafish website.

There are five guides and collectively these will help you to navigate the process to become a sponsor under the Skilled Worker Visa, to employ non-UK workers, and to meet your obligations as a sponsor and as an employer.

The guides to support you with the Skilled Worker Visa application process and to become a sponsor are available via the following link:

Employing workers from outside the UK

If you have any queries regarding the Skilled Worker Visa, or to request a copy of the Economic Impact Assessment, you can email SkilledWorkerVisa@seafish.co.uk.

Sardines a-plenty being landed in Newlyn - fire up those BBQs!

Sardine fishing has settled downover the lastw eek or so with the boats finding fish everywhere in the Bay...

though not always where they want them...

the overall size has been larger then usual for many hauls...

though the same could be said for this solid haul of hake...

landed for Thursday's auction...

which included some good sized monk as well...

meanwhile, the boys were busy putting shots of ten tons and more ashore...

one now counting down the days before 14 years at the sardines draws to a close and a new venture on the tugs from Falmouth begins...

and still they come ashore...

the Lyonesse working in the dark...

with all the fish market landing berths taken up...

Friday saw most of the feet at sea apart from the Trevessa V which landed for the morning market...

and the Twilight which shone a little brighter the other evening...

ready to let the ends go...

Border Force's patrol boat Valiant heads out on patrol again.