CHOUGHS HAVE RETURNED TO PENWITH THEIR SPIRITUAL HOME.

Saturday was a glorious day following a fine week when spring well and truly sprang, to have actually had two definitive seasons in their due time since last years appalling summer seems to have reset the  growth clocks of plants, so that for the first time in many years they actuallly know where they are. A couple of weeks ago much of the countryside was brown and dreary blasted by wind and frost during the long harsh winter months we are now emerging from.

Suddenly the long period of enforced dormancy has exploded into a riot of growth with at least forty shades of green systematically snuffing out the drab uniform beige of winter. Have the incredible magnolias or camelias or for that matter gorse and celandines that thrive in our part of the world ever looked better?

What a great pity that humanity cannot experience a similar rapid change of  season allowing new growth to displace the incredible amount of deadwood our often vexatious species seems to accumulate. This  is particularly relevant in the political spectrum given the impending election which, tragically, singularly fails to inspire any great degree of confidence or indeed optimism. Its more a matter of  holding ones nose while trying to decide who willl be the least bad choice to deal with the immense problems that have manifested themselves in the recent past.

Enough of that, this is timeless Cornwall, its spring and a time for optimsm, however bad things are or might get its all been seen before, we are still hanging in there albeit in reduced numbers as inward migration swells Cornwalls overall population in tune with Government imposed targets and housing quotas.

I had a particularly rewarding mission pencilled in to keep a promise made on St Pirans day to my Father in Law who at eighty five on that auspicious day is not as well as he was until recently. He wanted to see, possibly for the final time, the Cot Valley at St Just where in the 1920’s his Father, the renowned Captain John Gribbin, managed the small Wheal Hermon mine at the foot of the valley close by Porth Nanvan which is famous for its distinctive rounded granite boulders. Incidentally Capn John also managed the much larger Killifreth mine at Chacewater, of which Hawkes Shaft is considered the queen of engine houses on account of its graceful tall and slender chimney. As well as this he worked in India and Ashanti in Ghana, now the biggest gold mine in the world with in excess of 120 shafts of which he was involved in the sinking of the first.

HAWKES SHAFT ENGINE HOUSE AT KILLIFRETH WITH ITS GRACEFUL TALL STACK.

We got there by the scenic route from Marazion to Newlyn where even though frail he managed a portion of Jewells lemon sole and chips along with a tub of Jelberts ice cream topped with proper cream as we watched the world go by from the end of Newlyn’s New Pier. On through Mousehole to Lamorna by the backroad through Castallack to rejoin the main road at Lamorna Gate and on to Penberth Valley. There are always roadside flower stalls in the valley, that  in spring, sell the most amazing varieties of daffodil, of the type rarely seen in supermarkets, they are picked later in fuller bud so that they last longer in the vase. Having purchased a few bunches payment was made into the honesty box which is now securely fastened down to deter potential tea leaves who would have the lot away otherwise (what a sad reflection on current times).

A quick detour to the Minack at Porthcurno to look at the beautiful bay in the warm spring sunshine lifted our spirits even further for the final leg to St Just via Lands End and Sennen. I love entering St Just which can at first sight seem grey and dismal but which in reality is vibrant and surprisingly large, a real town rather than a village that boasts a mighty mining legacy which is now part of the World Heritage site.

At the top of Cot Valley, freshly turned out, up to their guts in lush new grass we passed the younger part of a beautiful herd of ruby red Devon cattle owned by the Thomas Family whose stock usually sweep the board at agricultural shows and produce the finest traditional beef from an amazing landscape on the ridge that straddles the Cot and Kenidjack Valleys. Next port of call was Botallack to take the unmade coastal by-way past the Crowns to Levant. In a  verysmall bare field between the track and the cliff I spotted a “crow” probing the soil with its beak, closer approach revealed this to be no ordinary crow, for the first time in my life I was face to face with a wild Chough, Cornwalls fabled National Bird. It eventually flew inland flapping its wings and undulating in the manner of a large butterfly, then suddenly from the opposite direction a flock of five or six appeared flying in front of us towards the fearsome drop at the cliff edge. To say that this made our day was an understatement, it was something I was not expecting, a real symbol of renewal perhaps an omen of better things to come?

The rest was an anticlimax after that show, the coastroad to St Ives via Zennor is never dreary but we were homeward bound, in St Day I drove the Old Man into the graveyard so he could watch me putting the flowers on the graves of his Wife who passed away recently and two Sons who died in tragic circumstances over twenty years ago. This was a fitting end to a memorable day made up of all the right ingredients to bring some little pleasure to the Old Mans restricted life since he was forced to give up his car.

LONG MAY OUR ICONIC NATIONAL BIRD SOAR ABOVE THE CORNISH CLIFFS.

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.