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Fresh line-caught tuna was on sale at the Newlyn Fish
Festival, with the added background of how it was caught available on a
new website.
A
visit to cornishtuna.com will give a gripping day-by-day report on how
the boats are faring as they fish for tuna more than 300 miles away
from Cornwall.
Most line-caught tuna landed in Cornwall will be
tagged similar to line-caught bass and pollack, giving 100 per cent
traceability for the buyer to see who caught that fish.
Three
boats from Newlyn are now engaged in pole - line - fishing, a
profitable method of catching them used by fishermen from the Basque
region. It is a well known technique and, as sea temperatures increase,
many scientists now suggest that in a decade, tuna may be swimming far
closer to the Cornish shores.
Pole fishing not only provides
work for large numbers of European fishermen, but also the freshness of
the catch underpins countless worldwide fish marketing businesses the
South West now has the option of joining.
At the Cornish yard of
C Toms & Son in Polruan, the Newlyn netters Nova Spero, skippered
by Sean Edwards, and the Charisma, with John Walsh, were fitted with
purpose-made tuna poling gear and set sail just over a week ago in
unsettled weather to find tuna in the Bay of Biscay.
Together
with the Ben Loyal, from which the first small batch of tuna was landed
last week, the fleet of three boats continues to have "great help from
the Basque boats", said Quentin Knights, a crewman working aboard the
Nova Spero.
His website blog - updated daily by satellite - has
already drawn much interest, and on Friday it read: "Reporting in from
Biscay. Weather, north west winds Force 3 to 4. We had 37 tuna for the
day. Tuna fishing is not as easy as it looks, we lost several fish
today - crew have got to watch the reels, you can't expect fish to jump
aboard by themselves. You've got to play the fish, not just yank it in.
"We
immediately put fish in ice water to keep the shine on them. This blog
is keeping me from going insane and it's good to talk. Everything else
is marvellous - loving it."
Seafood Cornwall, the Cornish Fish Producers' Organisation (CFPO), and other bodies support the venture.
"It
marks the culmination of a lot of hard work from the skippers, owners
and others to develop the sustainable Cornish line-caught tuna
fishery," said Paul Trebilcock, chief executive of the CFPO.
"Cornish
vessels were pioneers of the tuna fishery in the UK and once again are
leading the way for more British boats to be engaged in conservation
fishery.
"With grant assistance and support form Defra's science
challenge fund, we have visited Spain several times and are embarking
on what we hope to be a regular seasonal fishery.
"The help and
assistance we have received from the Spanish fishermen has been
magnificent and they couldn't have helped us more. We are now in
contact with some of the Basque boats working in the area and hopefully
we will continue to 'get amongst the tuna', a term Quentin repeatedly
uses on his blog."
As the WMN went to press, hopes were high
that a good run of line-caught tuna, on sale and being cooked at the
Newlyn Fish Festival, will allow the public to taste what may soon
become a seasonal prime product from local fishmongers.
Many
Westcountry wholesalers and processors already have plans to develop
fresh tuna markets in the UK, with ideas like smoked tuna already under
discussion.
Seafood Cornwall's boss, Nathan de Rozarieux, told
the WMN: "Tuna can be sourced from the global marketplace and with the
boats only catching relatively small quantities the price they get when
landing will ultimately dictate whether the fishery is viable or not.
"It's
a bit like the start of the Cornish sardine fishery when it was obvious
that the boats wouldn't be viable on prices paid by the main processors.
"Therefore,
in the same way we are trying to help develop the fishery as a 'top
end' niche product, line-caught quality product with hook-to-plate
traceability through a tagging and website scheme.
"And we are
now actively marketing the Cornish tuna to top restaurateurs and food
writers, including Rick Stein and Jamie Oliver's 15 restaurant."
article copyright WESTERN MORNING NEWS
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