"Southerly severe gale force 9 now decreased gale force 8 veering southwesterly imminent and increasing severe gale force 9 soon"

With the Mount barely visible in the background a Guilvenec registered trawler heads for the gaps......
passing the Anglian Princess still at anchor......
the Bara An Aod (one of three boats in the 'bread' fleet, bara is Breton for bread, she was the Concarneau registered Salangane) makes the gaps and heads for a berth.......
her youngish crew get a bow rope ashore......
while in the stern, an old hand has seen it all before.....
and immediately they turn to and get on with some running gear maintenance, unusually she is working twin rig trawls......
the latest cat at rest on the quay.....
something is not quite right in the harbour......
despite the shortage of supplies, a smiling face completes a reduced offering on Stevenson's wet fish counter display......
if the weather continues these guys might join their saltwater cousins and find a spot on the counter too......
sporting the brand new 'man cage' enforced on the harbour lights team by yet more H&S, at £500 it was a cost the harbour lights funds could have done without having to fork out on this year.....
there's not much of the cafe flag display left over at PZ dock......
and tons of building materials waiting on the quay for the Gry Maritha.

We want bigger scallops - possible size change ahead of annual quoat carve-up

The EU Council of Fisheries ministers are reviewing scallop landing size reguklations ahead of the pre-Christmas summit. West countyr ports like Newlyn and Brixham host a number of scallop boats that might see up to 20% of their potential income raken as a result of keeping biiger fish in line with EU sizes - read more in the Western Morning News.

Early start - and the hope that a new net sweeps clean

After a night of 50mph plus winds the dawning harbour air is still, though alongside the quay it's a different story as the harbour water surges causing the boats to heave continuously at their mooring ropes......
the boys aboard the Crystal Sea II get off to an early start, using high water.....
to give them the clearnce above the quay in order to get a new net from its crate......
and flaked on to the stern.....
under the watchful eye of skipper David......
after which its time to get the old net off the drum......
things are looking brighter aboard Shaun's shiny new command now that Squirrel (Squirrel Signs 01736 787487) has been and worked his sign-writing magic aboard the latest addition to the litter of cats already in the harbour.....
another old timer gets a step nearer to completion as a freshly painted derrick awaits fitting......
with virtually no fish week the market is now spotless, Dave is left to hose down a few pallets.

More rubbish

Fishing for litter campaign widens it's net

It started in Newlyn but now fishermen across South Devon are being invited to sign up to the pioneering Fishing For Litter scheme as it gets underway in the ports of Brixham and Plymouth this week.

The initiative was praised by Hilary Benn The Secretary of State for the Environment, during his visit to Newlyn earlier this year when he spent time with local skippers involved in the project, listening to their concerns regarding marine litter and its impact on the fishing industry. The project has been operational in Newlyn since March 2009 and aims to provide additional facilities for fishermen in the ports of Looe, Newquay and Appledore.

Despite many initiatives, marine litter remains one of the most significant problems affecting the marine environment. 20,000 tonnes of litter is dumped into the North Sea alone every year.

Fishing For Litter provides vessels with large bags to collect marine litter caught in their nets. When full, these bags are deposited safely on the quayside, the waste is then moved to a secure container ready for disposal at a site regulated by the Environment Agency. The project is designed to recover marine litter whilst raising awareness of the detrimental impact such waste can have on the marine environment.

Pete Bromley, Sutton Harbour Master and Fisheries Manager said; “Sutton Harbour Fisheries are totally committed to the South West Fishing industry and as such are happy to support the ‘Fishing for Litter’ scheme which clearly demonstrates a responsible approach to the environment and a determination to continue to develop a sustainable regional fishery”.

Items commonly caught in fishing nets and trawls include pieces of plastic and polythene, rope and cord, nets, bottles, rubber, metals and textiles. If not recovered, all these items would eventually end up on our seabed or littering the region’s beaches and shoreline.

Supported by the Cornwall Sea Fisheries Committee and funded by The Marine and Fisheries Agency, The Environment Agency, Cornwall Council, The Cornish Fish Producers’ Organisation, The Crown Estate, Duchy of Cornwall, Esmée Fairbairn Foundation and Natural England, the project forms part of the Fishing for Litter network run by KIMO, an international organisation of local authorities working to tackle marine pollution and environmental issues.

Chair of Torbay Council's Harbour Committee, Councillor Robert Horne said: "Brixham is on the crest of the wave with this conservation initiative. As well as being harmful to marine life, litter can pose a serious risk by causing entanglement or breakdown of vessels at sea.

"I am urging Brixham fisherman to join us in this campaign and preserve the marine environment. We must all work together to create a sustainable future for the next generation of fishermen."

Fishermen working out of Brixham and Plymouth wishing to join the scheme should contact Sarah Crosbie, Project Officer on 07812 137509 or 01736 364324 or their Harbour Office for more information.

Visit www.fishingforlitter.org for more info.

What do England's greatest sea hero, cuttlefish, a Cornishman and railways have in connection with a tiny fishing port in Sicily?

Delegates at a conference held at the Villa St Andrea, Taormina in Sicily in 1979 were presented with this unusual cook book. Printed on recycled paper - well before recycling became fashionable - the book contains recipes, many fish based, unique to Sicily......
each one written first in Sicilian......
then Italian....

followed by an English translation - however, those of you with a limited knowledge of Italian (rather than Sicilian) may just spot a significant error in this recipe for squid and cuttlefish twixt the original and the English version!

Either way, the recipe is a delicious way of preparing the these delicate creatures at this time of year when they are in abundance (when the boats can get to sea).

Apart from the fact that cuttles are also fished by boats from the tiny port of Taormina the links don't stop there. Amongst many notable Englishmen living was Lord Bridport, the Duke of Bronte who entertained others like DH Lawrence. The Villa St Andrea was once owned by a Cornishman whose family came from Zennor then Ludgvan near Penzance. The Trewhella family, later railway engineer and mine owner Robert Trewhella lived in the villa, which was much later (in the 1950s) converted to the luxury hotel it is today. Another English connection with the port was the Nelson family - use Google translation for this page.

The story of the villa hotel has an incredibly tragic element. As with many parts of Sicily the coastline consists of sheer cliffs with tiny ports at the foot of these cliffs. The grounds of the villa above Taormina end at a steep cliff edge - access to the port itself is by funicular railway built by Robert Trewhella. On the 5th of April 1959 the wife of Alfred Percy Trewhella (search on the page), Gertrude Deidamia Sarauw stepped out of the way of a car in the villa grounds and fell, as she did so, her husband Alfred tried to catch hold of her and, tragically, the two of them fell to their deaths.

Maybe someone can help with the Trewhella family history being researched here by Harry Manley.

Andrew George, MP for St Ives gets an open letter from skipper David Stevens Jnr.

Worried about his and the future of others, David Stevens Jnr, skipper of the last big trawler working from Newlyn on a regular basis has written an open letter to local lib-dem MP Andrew George.

The letter, a plea from the heart of one fishermen, but carrying with it the sentiment of many more in the region, all of whom are desperately worried that their livelihoods are about to be snatched from underneath their feet by a new quango with frightening powers.

At the heart of skipper David's plea is his concern at the almost total lack of co-operation between Natural England and the very fishermen who fish the grounds soon to be affected by Special Areas of Conservation (SACs). He points out to the MP that despite repeated requests for cooperation between the very men who fished the grounds and Natural England (whom the government has happily spent millions of taxpayer's money) - none has been forthcoming.

Here is the open letter by David Stevens to Andrew George MP, reproduced in full:


Tuesday, 17 November 2009
Mr Andrew George MP

I am a fisherman from Newlyn and I work a trawler called the Crystal Sea. We met back in the summer when Hillary Benn came to Newlyn to view the work we were doing for the fishing for litter scheme.

I mentioned to you that we were having problems with Natural England and the implication of the proposed special areas of conservation (SAC’s). The areas that they have chosen have now been submitted and we are now in the consultation period, we are happy on the whole where the boxes are sited and they generally follow the area that the fisherman work, which they have done so for many years. However we have some fundamental issues with Natural England that we need your help with.

I am sure you are aware that the boxes do not alter things on the ground too much, which is a good thing as towed gear people like myself and others will be excluded from the areas as they contain reefs and they need to be safeguarded against possible damage. This is fine with all us towed gear men as through good working practice and tradition we do not tow in these areas, as we would damage our fishing gear.

The static gear men (potters, netters, hand liners, and drift netters) who traditionally worked this area because it offers the best fishing opportunities and there gear was safe from the towed gear activities, were happy with the box drawn as it covered the areas that they traditionally worked. The government was also happy as they had a closed area under the habitats directive and would consequently not be fined as they were fulfilling the 10% of marine protected area’s that was needed by the EU/ UN.

You would of thought that this would be the end of the matter, when we asked Natural England if this box was the final solution to the matter and we seeked guaranties that the static gear men could continue to fish as they have done so for many years, they said that they were not going to give any guaranties as there was still more scientific work to do. As you can imagine the local inshore fisherman from Sennen boat cove, Cadgwith, Lizard, Newlyn, Penberth, Helford and Coverack are now worried sick, as they fear for their future.

Over the last couple of years Natural England have spent a fortune of tax payers money, using survey vessels, divers, and the working hours of the growing army of Natural England employees, so they could identify the areas of which, we have three in Cornwall (Land's End, Lizard, and Eddystone). They have not consulted the industry what so ever about where to look or where to place them, even though we asked them many times to do so. So with the amount of scientific work that has been done and the money that has been spent why can they not guaranty the future for these vessels to be able to carry on their sustainable fishing methods, which have no impact on the reefs?

I am not a cynical person on the whole but sometimes you have to question motives and ask the question when the obvious is not being done.
Natural England in reality could have sat down with the fisherman put the same boxes in place, but they would have been exactly where they needed to be, instead they chose to search a huge area at great expense and working hours.
I feel as do many others, that the lack of guaranties and constructive relations with the fisherman, has more to do with long-term job security rather than being for the benefit of the environment, taxpayer or the fisherman. With a box in place that will need constant management there will be a need to employ Natural England at great expense for many years to come.

I would also like to bring to your attention the work that is being done for the marine protected area’s MPA’s, we are currently busy mapping the area’s that we fish so we can find area’s that can be protected, for whatever reason that may be. But finding sanctuary who are tasked to do the mapping have told natural England that the current time frame to implication is to short and we will need longer to fully map the area’s and to get all the information from the interested parties, mainly fisherman and anglers. The fishing industry has also raised this issue many times and it has so far fallen on deaf ears, which does not bode well for the future.

I am writing to you, In the hope you can raise our concerns and seek the much needed guaranties that are needed, to help ease the worry that many inshore fisherman are feeling, they are baring the brunt of all this regulation and feel helpless at the power of large organisations like Natural England, who seem to have power and a remit above and beyond their capabilities, and I would say that parliament and you our last line of help as parliament is the only place with the power to make them listen, they are civil servants after all.

Yours Faithfully David E Stevens (vice chair CFPO)

Poseidon guards the entrance to Penlee Marina.

After visiting the Penlee Marina exhibition some time ago, a local resident was inspired to create this classically themed entrance to the marina basin. A statue of Poseidon's head with the mouth big enough to allow vessels of all sizes to enter would create worldwide interest. Who wouldn't want to have their boat captured on film entering the mouth of Poseidon?

Netter Ajax has the market to herself

Over the weekend the wind dropped, but come Monday morning it was business as usual......
the Dom Bosco was alongside the market where she landed her weekend's work to the Seafoodandeatit van.....
the only large quantity of fish on the market was from the netter Ajax with a good shot of fish - even the blackjack's made nearly £2.90 a kilo, not surprising given fish starved markets throughout the UK.....
here, the last of the blackjacks make their way to Ocean Fish who took most of the Ajax's trip.