THE BEN LOYAL – A CLASSIC SCOTTISH BUILT SEINE NETTER BASED IN NEWLYN AS A TANGLE NETTER FOR MANY YEARS NOW HEADING BACK TO NEWLYN TO FISH ALBACORE TUNA IN BISCAY.
In my former career I was a fisherman, after 24 successful years ashore I have taken the decision to invest in a company to fish albacore tuna in the Bay of Biscay, this is a seasonal fishery which takes place during the summer and early autumn from north of the Azores to west of Ireland following the albacore’s annual northerly migration along the edge of the European continental shelf.
This decision has not been taken in haste, there has been a lot of research involved into this exciting fishery which the Spanish or more particularly Basque fishermen have prosecuted in the same manner for around three centurys. There is so much gloom and doom around currently but I am convinced that things are at or very near rock bottom, to affirm my conviction that there is a future it is necessary to put my money where my mouth is and wholeheartedly back a fledgling enterprise that dares to be different. A fishery that is fuel efficient, does not create any discards or harm other sea life in any way must be encouraged to move forward.
LINE CAUGHT ALBACORE STRAIGHT FROM THE OCEAN, THE QUARRY FOR THE BEN LOYAL.
Newlyn boats have been involved in this fishery for several years with varying degrees of success, originally using drift nets which were banned on environmental grounds by the EU. After a break when no British vessels took part a small albacore trolling fishery has evolved out of Newlyn mirroring the methods of a substantial Spanish fleet which continues to fish albacore very sucessfully.
The search for a suitable vessel was not straightforward as certain hull characteristics are necessary which are not a feature of modern boats, generally built with trawling in mind, to conform with EU dictated size constraints. The number of suitable older vessels was decimated by various decommissioning schemes designed to reduce the fleet, this actually led to the huge ongoing problem with so called rule beaters, many of which were built with the money from decommissioned larger vessels.
To sucessfully troll for albacore a vessel needs to move through the water while creating the absolute minimum underwater noise signature which means fine hull lines and a quiet engine and propellor, in this respect the Ben Loyal ticks every box apart from age as she was built in 1960. She is powered by a legendary Gardner 8L3B engine which is very fuel efficient and utterly reliable, the fishroom is modern with superb refrigeration to ensure catch freshness in warm summer conditions and the wheelhouse and accomodation are are of a high standard to ensure crew comfort on long trips.
Another plus in the Ben Loyals favour was the fact that she already has a track record albacore trolling in her previous ownership which could be significant if licensing or quota rules change. It is fully understood that she will only work during the trolling season however this period will hopefully be intensive unlike the netters who effectively only work for half the year anyway due to tidal constraints.
Knowing how well the vessels hull was maintained by previous owners indicated that despite her age she was worth a further look, yesterday she was slipped at Tom’s Yard at Polruan for a full survey to be carried out. This afternoon the surveyor reported that the survey, for insurance purposes, was very satisfactory so the money changed hands and the Ben Loyal passed into the ownership of Cornish Tuna. com Ltd of which I am a director along with Quentin Knights who has been a major player in the development of the fledgling Cornish albacore trolling fishery.
This encouraging news initiates the next piece of the jigsaw as the planned pre season refit proceeds over the next eight or nine weeks so that fishing can commence during the first week of May. We will be paying a visit to Bermeo later in March to collect the specialised Basque style equipment which has worked well on the other two vessels Nova Spero and Charisma. The Ben Loyals previous owner had been using American style gear which Quentin never rated highly, given Quentins proven track record in this job I am happy to accept his judgement on preferred gear types and methodology. Hopefully it will also be possible at the same time to catch up with the local fishermen who have been so helpful to us in the past.
Quentin has establshed that albacore can be successfully caught by Cornish boats prepared to learn the Basque methods, great credit is due to the Basque fishermen from Bermeo who have offered Quentin and his colleagues every assistance to learn the methods they so successfully employ.
BERMEO, SIMILAR IN SIZE TO NEWLYN, IS THE TUNA CAPITAL OF BISCAY, BERMEO FISHERMEN HAVE DONE SO MUCH TO ASSIST THE CORNISH SUCCESSFULLY CATCH ALBACORE BY TROLLING.
The biggest obstacle to the long term viability of this highly sustainable single species fishery has been marketing, early on Newlyn merchants seemed unable or unwilling to create outlets prepared to pay a realistic price for the high quality line (sustainably) caught produce from this wonerful niche fishery, this I feel will prove to be their loss in the long term. Plymouth Trawler Agents saved the day at that time but despite a lot of effort were still unable to place the large quantities of fish on an ongoing basis while the merchants continued to treat the fish as an occasional windfall that they were unwilling to pay a decent price for.
The situation was salvaged by one forward thinking firm of merchants, who recognising the considerable potential for a unique niche premium product, offered a viable fixed price for all the albacore landed. Unfortunately the appalling 2009 summer ensured that, for Cornish boats, the season ended early as the boats switched back to tangle netting. This year is highly unlikely to be as bad as last summer which broke so many records for its sheer awfulness which, apparently, was due to a rare shift of the high altitude jetstream. During August and September 2009 a long Indian summer saw heavy albacore catches west of Ireland for those Basque, French and Irish boats that had persevered which, unfortunately, the Cornish boats missed. High pressure is the key factor in albacore behaviour, warm sunny conditions bring them to the surface where they are caught by the trolling boats.
2010 will be a make or break year for Cornwall with regard to this fishery, the Ben Loyal is effectively a “one trick pony” she has a category C licence which effectively only allows her to fish albacore tuna. Given the real possibility of a normal summer weather pattern this is a viable option, the more so with sufficient quota available and a fixed price agreed for the catch.
MODERN BASQUE ALBACORE TROLLERS IN BERMEO HARBOUR - PURPOSE DESIGNED TO FISH IN A HIGHLY SUSTAINABLE ECO FRIENDLY MANNER - A FAR CRY FROM THE TYPICAL BRITISH PERCEPTION OF SPANISH FISHERMEN WHO, IN REALITY, ARE IN SO MANY RESPECTS LIGHT YEARS AHEAD OF US.
My carefully considered investment will not as a sleeping partner, fishing a long way from home dictates that boats engaged in this exciting fishery in clear blue deep Biscay waters must carry two tickets or certificates of competency, due to the upheavals experienced by the industry in recent years tickets are in short supply as so many have left the industry and few youngsters are bothering to qualify. My ticket has been dormant for too long given the brain twanging involved in getting it, so for better or worse I will be playing an active role in the venture at sea.
I regard it as a last great adventure before I get too old, I am sure we can catch the fish given reasonable summer weather. We intend focusing on the marketing angle which is the key element to real long term success, telling the story of this adventure will hopefully encourage potential customers to sample this superb fish caught sustainably in an eco friendly manner without harm to other fish, dolphins or birds.
Follow the adventure here and at www.cornishtuna.com or www.newlyn.info we hope we keep you all informed and entertained in the coming months.
THE BEN LOYALS CLASSIC LINES DEFINE A SUPERB SEA BOAT MORE THAN CAPABLE OF HANDLING THE POOR WEATHER THAT WILL INEVITABLY BE ENCOUNTERED FROM TIME TO TIME, THE OLD MAXIM “IF IT LOOKS RIGHT IT PROBABLY IS RIGHT” COULD HAVE BEEN COINED WITH HER IN MIND.
