Tag Archives: Through the Gaps
First #FishyFriday in June and so much fish!
Earlier in the week the market was bust enough with the F/V St Georges taking full advantage of the big tide, as did Tom on the F/V Guardian. Friday morning saw a market packed end-to-end with fish from five boats landing their trips of white fish – just as well all the prawns the Scottish boats landed went into the back of their refrigerated transport yesterday. The range and quality of fish was up to its usual high standard with cracking examples of tub gurnard, witch soles, big haddock, and really big monk. Lots of photos of fish and boats! Click on the images to enlarge them. >click to read< 11:53
‘A’ is for Algrie, end of a fishing era.
A piece of fishing history left through the gaps this week on her way to be scrapped in Ghent, Belgium – the Algrie was the very first trawler purchased by the Stevenson family fishing firm to enter the harbour in 1976 and start was to become the the largest privately owned beam trawl fishing fleet in Europe. In 1982, the 70ft Algrie found her beam trawls attached to the nuclear attack sub HMS Spartan in the waters off Land’s End in 1982 and towed her for quite some time before the sub surfaced. Legend has it that, at first, the Navy via the coastguard, denied there was a submarine in the area! Video, Lots of photos, >click to read< 12:48
Three in one week.
They say a week is a long time in politics, or if you wait ages for a bus, three come along at once – in just one week Newlyn has just seen the loss of three members of its fishing community. First to make his way to the deck of the big fishing boat in the sky was Mr PCCM himself, son of a coastguard, Dick Harvey. Dick epitomised ‘old school’. Talking of HMRC and tax, fish buyer Geoff Davies, seen here with early-days mobile phone hitched to is belt, was a tax inspector in a previous life – that was before he came to fish from Newlyn and then, subsequently went ashore and worked for leading fish merchant Nick Howell when his premises were behind Waghorns. Fishing runs deep in the Stevens family, generations have fished from the port of St Ives. Ernest Stevens, David Stevens father had the second and much larger Rose of Sharon built in 1969 by Forbes of Sandhaven, the first built them back in 1964. Lots of photos, >click to read< 09:45
Angry, Breton fishermen on strike!
It would seem that it is not only Uk fishermen that are troubled by the position they find themselves in with regard to quotas, increasingly demanding NGOs, fuel costs and a general increase in what seem unworkable rules and regulations being forced upon them In Brittany, which is home to some of the largest ports in France fishermen – including company boats – are taking action today and effectively going on strike by staying in port. If such action were to be contemplated here in Cornwall say, it would be good to think the company boats would also mirror their Breton cousins and stay in port. Video, >click to read< 09:05
Biggest UK beamer launch, Admiral Gordon to join the South West fleet!
Parkol Marine were excited to announce the launch of New Build 058 at Middlesbrough on Friday. Many of their followers have been looking forward to seeing the completed vessel. So it’s congratulations to the vessel owners on the launch of F/V Admiral Gordon PH-330, a 27.3m LOA beam trawler. It has been a pleasure working with you all, best wishes from everyone at Parkol. F/V Admiral Gordon is the first over 20-metre beam trawler to be designed and built in the UK for 30 years, a massive achievement to all involved, British Manufacturing at its best! 8 Photos, >click to read< 11:24
Full on fish landings this #FishyFriday in Newlyn.
Good Morning from Newlyn! 22 photos and a nice video! >click to review< 09:47
RIP Pussen, the feral harbour cat.
For those who have lived and worked on the harbour in Newlyn over the past 10 years, the sight of a black and white feral cat hunting for rats in the rocks by the RNLI boathouse wouldn’t have been a strange sight. She had a great bounty there which kept her fit. But as for her main food supply she depended on the many pigeons that housed in the wall face on the way to the net sheds opposite Trelawney fish shop. It was in this location that I was lucky enough to see her engage in what she did best. I rigged gillnets in the end shed which gave me a front seat to the act. I called her to me almost daily after that but she showed no interest until I saw her pass one day and offered her some fresh ham from my lunch. This she accepted from a distance,,, photos, Freddie Bates, adopted cat companion. >click to read< 10:23
Sunny Monday in Newlyn.
Sardine boat, Pelagic Marksman upon the hard for a pre-season hull check… Lots of great phots! >click to review< 16:07
How many more #FishyFridays if fuel rockets in price?
In Lorient, with the fishermen on strike: “If we close it now, the profession will die” Overwhelmed by the soaring price of “fishing diesel”, shipowners have stopped Breton boats from Keroman, the country’s second largest fishing port. Usually, at this time, the boats are offshore. Wednesday morning, they are almost all moored along the quays of the port of Keroman in Lorient (Morbihan). The first fishing port in Brittany, second in the country, is almost at a standstill. La P’tite Mila explains why on a banner painted red, stretched on her deck: “Sailor ashore, diesel too expensive!!!”Another ship sports a hangman in yellow oilskin. Over the past ten days, most shipowners have paused their activity, overwhelmed by the soaring price of “fishing diesel”, tax-free professional fuel: 1.05 euros per liter on average Wednesday,,, >click to read< 11:19
A Record Breaker!
The record for the value of fish landed in a single trip at one of England’s busiest fishing ports has been broken. The Enterprise caught the £87,353 haul during an eight-day trip out of Newlyn, Cornwall, last month. Skipper Nathan Marshall said “the stars were aligned” as they broke the previous port record by £11,000. The 43m (141ft) ship is the largest beam trawler in the port, and the newest having arrived in 2021. “Some hauls are better than others but on this trip they were just all good hauls, every single one of them.” >click to read<, More photos of the trip, Boom! Star ship Enterprise lands a record-breaking £87,353 trip. >click to read< 07:32
Full-on #FishyFriday in Newlyn
The repairs to the Fishermens Arms must be taking longer than when they built the place. Mordros looking good in the morning sunshine. some classy curves on the crabber Francesca’s revamped wheelhouse. A lot of fantastic photos of fish and other interesting happenings in Newlyn, Cornwall on #FishyFriday. Enjoy! >click to read< 09:28
Photo’s: Monday morning in Newlyn – a misty start to the day.
A nice selection of photos from Lawrence Hartwell. >click to review< and click on the photos to enlarge them! Thank you, Lawrence! 13:01
First freezing #FishyFriday this year in Newlyn!
The sight of an ill-fitting hard hat three sizes too small earlier in the week provided a first glimpse of the big Padstow man himself in this celebration of skippers-to-be in the Swordfish circa 1985 cuddling a very young Billy Bunn, alongside another big skipper-to-be, Don Liddicoat and (seated) skipper/owner of the Ocean Harvester, Mervyn Mountjoy, sadly now no longer with us,,, Lots of fishy photos, >click to read< 10:32
Newlyn: Grimmy Mike RIP.
There are, or rather were, two well-known skippers called Mike in Newlyn, both referred to by their ports of origin, Milford Mike and Grimmy Mike. Whilst Milford Mike is currently a contender for the oldest working fisherman in the port, sad news has reached Newlyn that Grimmy Mike has gone to the big wheelhouse in the sky. For those who are not aware, Mike Mahon, better known as Grimmy Mike became something of living legend in 
Newlyn and beyond. The photo above epitomises Grimmy’s political fishing career – the little guy steaming ahead, singlehandedly trying to champion his beloved fishing industry battling against the full weight of legislation in the form the much-hated Common Fisheries Policy. Grimmy’s finest moment came when he sought the support of Canadian Fisheries minister, Brian Tobin who flew to Newlyn for the 1995 Fish Festival. photos,>click to read< 14:47
Newlyn: That was the year that was – 2021 in pictures
Notwithstanding Covid, history was made in January 2021 when Newlyn’s fish auction went online signaling the end of the shout auction. Busy markets are now devoid of buyers, all of whom bid from the comfort of a remote computer, wherever that may be. The demise of things that had been a feature of the harbour for many years was to be repeated several times later in the year, the next casualty being landings of fish from the boats in the Waterdance fleet being landed in Newlyn but transported by road for auction at Brixham which, despite the need to reduce the carbon footprint, sees large quantities of the sae fish then transported back to Newlyn for processing and transported yet again back up the A30 for distribution beyond Cornwall. Photo’s, >click to read< 08
With the shortest day of the year over, summer is on its way!
First light this morning sees Tom keeping his ever-watchful eye over the fleet. Almost all are now safely tied up in port, though the crabbers and netters will look to put in a few days between Christmas and New Year’s Eve to keep supplies going. As light floods the harbour the sky almost resembles the aurora borealis as the sun rises. as the hues intensify above the horizon. >Photos, click to read< 11:22
It was a Fine #FishyFriday morning in Newlyn
Big shift in the weather this morning as strong winds and heavy skies give way to patches of blue and light winds… lots of fish, and photos! >click to read< 10:24
Fish Galore! It’s a fine Fishy Friday in Newlyn
Cool cloud colours this morning but still autumnal temperatures pervade… Lots of fish photo’s, from Tuna to Turbot! >click to read< 08:34
Bugaled Breizh – Why Thierry Lemétayer has been calling for the truth for 17 years
Thierry Lemétayer has been fighting for 17 years to find out the truth about the sinking of the Bugaled Breizh. The fight of a lifetime, for his father who, like four other crew members, perished at sea on January 15, 2004. From the investigation which opens in London on October 4, he hopes and expects a lot. “What France refused us, Great Britain gives us” says Thierry Lemétayer whose father, Georges, disappeared with four other crew members during the sinking of the Bugaled Breizh in 2004 “What France refused us, Great Britain gives us” says Thierry Lemétayer whose father, Georges, disappeared with four other crew members during the sinking of the Bugaled Breizh in 2004. >click to read< 07:57
It’s another fine FishyFriday in Newlyn.
Last few hours for the netting fleet before they leave their berths to take ice and head away for the next tide… with fine weather comes fine fishing and the auction was full of inshore landings this morning… lots of photos, >click to read< 22:09
Fine, flat calm #FishyFriday in Newlyn.
Fine start to the final day of the week and with a big spring tide the netting fleet are all in port waiting for the next neap to begin…fish, photos, >click to read< 22:44
Fish galore on Monday morning’s market in Newlyn!
Algrie heads away from the gaps past the Mount on a fine morning passing the Irene at anchor in Gwavas Lake, hopefully those wet looking clouds will dissipate throughout the day,,, plenty of fish and photos, >click to read< 22:20
Fish tails – on the final #FishyFriday of July
Hard to believe looking across the harbour this morning that six hours before this was taken both St Marys and Sennen lifeboat were patrolling the Scillys as gusts up to 69mph caused chaos both ashore and at sea. An impatient fleet gets the gear sorted before leaving the quay and heading back to sea.. first away was the hake netter Ajax, Fish, photos, >click to read< 22:47
Men at work on the Manin on a muggy Monday morning in Newlyn
Hardly a breath of wind to disturb the tranquil waters of Newlyn this morning as the crew of the Ocean Pride struggle to pull the Sapphire II back into her berth before making her way to the slip cradle. Meanwhile on the fish market there are couple of big trips of haddock and other quality white fish for the Irish trawler Unity. hake from the Ajax, and quality flats form the beam trawler Sapphire II. Lots of beautiful fish, beautiful photos! >click to read< 08:08
Profit and turnover down as UK fishing fleet weathers a challenging year.
Our first economic performance estimates for 2020 show impact of pandemic on fishing industry. Fishing fleet performance in 2020 The total operating profit of the UK fishing fleet fell by almost a fifth in 2020 as the sector dealt with the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic. The data we’re publishing today shows that: Operating profit fell by 19% from £264 million in 2019 to £214 million in 2020. Turnover, which had been above the £1 billion mark for the previous three years, fell to £843 million. This is a 17% reduction. These totals,,, photos, >click to read<22:26
Monday morning in Newlyn
Fishing vessel Silver Dawn at dawn heads in through the gaps for the fish market. She will pass a bevvy of the port’s biggest crabbers, five of them currently between trips, tyre fenders in the making, they could come in handy. The weekend saw a number of landings from boats large and small including these top quality red mullet from the Fishing Vessel Harvest Reaper, >32 photos, video, click to read< 22:32
More Celtic visitors in Newlyn
Amaven Uno, another visiting Spanish flag stern trawler is in Newlyn Tuesday morning, while another Scottish prawn boat moored on the end of the Marwy Williams pier – her namesake fished her 30 years ago along with the Loranthus, Wavecrest and Bounteous – they made two pair teams that fished for winter mackerel landing in Penzance dock. as can be seen from this photo, with the fully laden Loranthus laying outside the Bounteous having her mackerel pumped ashore – most likely for fishmeal – sadly, the Bounteous was lost one night when she capsized while hauling her midwater trawl full of mackerel >19 photos, click to read< 10:55
New build Amanda of Ladram in Newlyn.
Waterdance’s latest vessel to join their ever-expanding fleet is PW-6, the Amanda of Ladram, skippered by Jonathon Walsh. The largely Padstow based skipper and crew will operate mainly from Newlyn targeting mainly MSC Certified hake. the boat is currently fishing north of the Scillys, and, like all the vessels in the fleet she will overland her fish from Newlyn to be sold on the market at Brixham. >click to watch< a 9:46 video tour, and a 62 image photo gallery by Lawrence Hartwell, Through the Gaps 22:34
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… 11 photos, >click to view< 09:16
Fishing into the Future
Fishing into the Future (FITF), an independent UK charity led by people working in the fishing industry, has formed a partnership with the Fishmongers’ Company. The partnership includes a substantial grant to implement a three-year work programme that builds on their innovative learning and leadership initiative. Fishing into the Future’s Chairman, Dave Stevens, owner and skipper of the demersal trawler, Crystal Sea SS 118, remarks on the importance of charity’s work and the benefit the support from The Fishmongers’ Company will bring, >click to read< 12:36
