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TWEET TWEET BLOODY TWEET, COMMONSENSE FINALLY PREVAILS IN PENZANCE, LETS HOPE ITS NOT AN ISOLATED OUTBREAK PERHAPS IT WILL INFECT THE REST OF THE BAY!

 

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AERIAL VIEW OF THE HARBOUR WHERE PASSIONS HAVE BEEN RUNNING SO HIGH BECAUSE THERE ARE SEVERAL VIEWS AS TO WHAT IS BEST FOR PENZANCE.

Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I would warm to or indeed appreciate the, to me, previously irritating phenomenon of “tweeting”. However after previously suffering from a “Meldrewesque” sense of outrage that Cornwall Councillors were tweeting in the Council Chamber during meetings, this afternoons real time reporting via a series of tweets  relating to the meeting of the Cornwall Council Strategic Planning Committee forced me to revise my opinion of Twitter.

Unable to make the crucial planning meeting, I saw on the excellent “This is Cornwall” website that twitter was being used to disseminate the latest titbits from the fast moving hard hitting debate as the drama unfolded, I took a look and was soon hooked by the constant bite size updates that were flashing up on my screen.

The fractious, convoluted and needlessly costly, long delayed, process to build a ferry terminal to serve the Isles of Scilly has finally been approved by Cornwall Councils Srategic Planning Committee marking a significant victory for commonsense, laying bare, in the process, the flawed arguments of a collection of vociferous granite hugging recidivists who came so close to blighting the future of Penzance as a living breathing constantly evolving  commercial Port.

The “Friends of Penzance Harbour’s hollow victory at the previous Planning meeting in December was the final straw for the sensible silent majority who suddenly realised that they needed to nail their colurs to the mast and urgently get their case across. Subsequently a lot of latent support has emerged for option A while Mr Maggs and his cohorts have rehashed the same tired arguments ad nauseum.

It increasingly appears to have been a good strategy to have let Mr Maggs have his say for so long as most right minded people soon saw through the very flawed arguments that he peddled with such evangelical fervour, eventually, as is always the case, he became yesterdays news, by having nothing new to say the Gentleman simply became tedious.

Hopefully todays good news will become the catalyst needed to kickstart Mounts Bay’s long awaited, desperately needed renaissence, being the first step towards realising its stunning marine based economic potential. 

At the very least the bruising process thus far has been a rip roaring, rollicking example of democracy in the raw, neither side have any room to complain that their arguments were not fully and frankly aired, in the end, quite simply the best argument carried the day but it was close. It certainly reinforces the fact that the silent majority must never be complacent while organisations like the “Friends of Penzance Harbour” take it upon themselves to speak for us, ignore the likes of them at your peril. 

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THE HOTLY DISPUTED FERRY TERMINAL LOCATION IS NOT ACTUALLY VISIBLE FROM THE TOWN.

ITS STILL A BIT CHILLY BUT THE SUN IS SHINING.

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A SURE SIGN THAT SPRING IS ON THE WAY DESPITE THE BITING EASTERLY WINDS.

Its finally dried up as the wind has backed into the east and the pent up agricultural demand for gas oil has exploded as farmers crack on with delayed planting and tillage operations at a prodigious rate. Modern sophisticated machinery can soon catch up any backlogs when conditions are right, as with everything else these days investment is the only way forward.

Out walking yesterday it was bitingly cold and everywhere the grass is burned off and brown with the cold, walking along an east facing lane sloping down towards the sea the difference between the two hedges was remarkable, the north side that was catching the sunlight was showing signs of good growth, celandines, primroses and snowdrops were in bloom and everything was dark green. The other south side being in permanent shade still had evidence of the hard overnight frost and little sign of growth at all,  true examples of microclimates about eight feet apart.

This morning the phones are again ringing off the wall reminiscent of earlier panic mondays workload appears to be 50/50 gas oil and kerosene. Prices have firmed recently and seem to be staying there, demand is a factor only to a degree, fear of a Labour Government being re-elected seems to be making investors jittery enough to bolt into oil futures as a safe haven. We all know that this is madness but the way the international oil market works is akin to the “Mad Hatters Tea Party” beyond tne wit of mere mortals to control.

At least the days are opening out as we head towards the equinox hoping for a better summer than last year. On friday the £ was worth $1.51 and the euro 90.25 pence, Brent crude closed at $79.32 per barrel.

OLD JOB, NEW VENTURE- I MAKE AN INVESTMENT IN SUSTAINABLE CORNISH FISHING- CORNISH TUNA.COM LTD PURCHASES THE BEN LOYAL.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.