BBC News 19th December 2007

A "fair settlement" has been reached on 2008 EU fishing quotas at the annual talks in Brussels, UK Fisheries Minister Jonathan Shaw has said.

The European Commission had sought a 25% cut to fishing days off the west coast of Scotland, and a 10% reduction to fishing days in the North Sea.

But a deal was reached to make cuts of 18% and 10% respectively, with an 11% rise in the North Sea cod catch.

Crews will also be "given back" days at sea for helping conservation measures.

Fishing Industry Pilot Study - Funding finishes on February 29th for free assesment and free treatment for all injuries or pain if you are an active fisherman. 

To get more funding for future fishermen, Harbourside Physiotherapy - Newlyn need you all to come and complete an assesment with a physiotherapist who is trying to help Fishermen to get all the tretament and care that is needed.

Please ring for an appointment:

01736 366224 clinic hours

07979 424884 out of hours

Mon to Fri 9am to 7pm

Sat 9am to 12 noon.  

Please call on your way in from sea as we need the whole crew to be involved. 

The latest newsletters from Seafood Cornwall and the CFRC can be found by clicking on the Newsletters tab at the top of the page.

The Cornwall Fisheries Resource Centre is currently taking details of people wishing to undertake this 2 day course as we are ooking into delivering this course in Newlyn. 

A few words from Mike Collier (MCA).

Whilst there is no statutory requirement for vessels under 750 kw (1000hp) to have qualified engineers aboard I think it is to be applauded when any initiative that increases knowledge and ability is put on the table. I would be pleased to attend the 2 day Seafish Engineering course that the CFRC is proposing.  The minimum Certificate of Competency for Fishing Vessel Engineers is a Class 2 which only requires an oral examination. It is likely that the knowledge gained on the course would help towards completing that syllabus. We are very keen to expand crew's abilities to deal with problems as they occur at sea and this would certainly help on that front.

If you would like more information or would like to be contacted when we have confirmed dates please call sarah on 01736 634324 or email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Published by Fish Update: 17th December 2007

ALAN McCulla, Chief Executive of the Anglo Northern Irish Fish Producers' Organisation, is to visit ports in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, on behalf of the National Federation of Fishermen's Organisations (NFFO)in the New Year.

HEADING off the European Commission's proposals for hefty cuts in the number of days fishing vessels can stay at sea will be a key focus for the UK at next week's fisheries talks in Brussels.

Present EC proposals would see a 10% cut in the North Sea allocations and 25% for the West Coast, but the UK will be arguing that it would be much better for the EU to adopt a UK discard reduction plan including real time closures, technical measures and observer schemes rather than enact further heavy-handed policy.

SHELLFISH could command better retail prices if it were more closely associated with sustainability and best-practice, but accreditation is difficult because of a lack of scientific knowledge of stocks, the Shellfish Association of Great Britain says.

To see how this problem can be remedied, SAGB has proposed the establishment of a National Shellfish Resource Group.

by Phil Lockley, Published in Fishing News 14th December. 

THE latest fishing vessel to be completed at the Cornish boat yard of C Toms & Son awaits its official launch, planned for mid January, writes Phil Lockley.

Built for the Aberystwyth skipper Robbie Gorman, it is the second wooden crabber he has had built at the yard.

TRIALS last week with the Eliminator trawl from the USA, which is designed to allow cod to escape, were reported to be very successful, reports Tim Oliver.

Over 90% of cod escaped and the trawl caught 80-90% of the amount of haddock and whiting caught by a control vessel using a standard groundfish trawl.

COD has just reached a world record price of £6.40 a kilo on a major European fish market, while little more than 100 miles away, one skipper was reportedly throwing thousands of pounds worth back into the sea.