Xiucutil

Wrong way round!?

Did anyone hear the Welsh guy singing a hymn in his own language at the end of the Today programme on Radio 4 this morning. What a superb voice. Got me choked right up it did, had to stop work and take a few moments to compose myself!

The problem is we are not a fish eating culture in the same way as they are on the continent especially Spain. Go into a Spanish fish shop and you will see everything that swims and crawls in the sea, in Britain it's pretty much cod, salmon, tuna and prawns. Give a French housewife a spider crab and she will say ooh la la merci, a Spanish one ole! gracias, a British housewife wouldn't have a clue what to do with it and if it was alive would probably scream and run away!

I remember when that place started was a few years ago now. I was brought up just down the road in the boatyard at Galmpton Creek. Not sure if it is still going, haven't been down that way for years.

You might find whiting in Tesco but your best bet is a fishmonger. You would probably have to ask them to get it in for you, there is so much fish caught in this country which isn't widely eaten so there isn't great demand. 100 per cent of the spider crabs I catch are exported as there is no demand here which is a shame as the meat is delicious. Had spider claws and cuttlefish for dinner, caught today. I know I'm spoilt?.

You are right, I know I am lucky to live here it's a beautiful area. From the top of my road you can see clear across Start Bay to Start Point. Particularly beautiful today, got to sea and got back without breaking anything, perfect weather and caught a nice lot of crab, first wage I've learnt since the beginning of March. I am from over the river myself, brought up in Galmpton, nearly Torbay.

Very true, most people couldn't tell the difference especially with a bit of batter or sauce round it. It's a shame people don't buy much of the cheaper white fish like whiting and pouting, they are delicious and cost next to nothing.

You are right, less fish has been landed. A lot of the smaller boats haven't been going so much due to the uncertainty and general strangeness of the times. I have been out a couple of times and not seen another boat all day which is quite odd and disconcerting and not very safe. I run a 30' Cygnus Cyclone single handed from Dartmouth. Spiders now until August, tangle netting for soles in the summer, red mullet and a bit of line fishing for bass and pollack in autumn, potting for prawns and concentrate on the oyster farming in the winter and spring. Used to do a lot of ray netting but the price of them has been very poor for the last couple of years and I can't bring myself to kill beautiful big blondies for next to nothing so I don't do it any more. I used to skipper big crabbers in the channel and for ten years off the Orkneys and Hebrides. Bought my own boat 20 years ago and have been poor ever since! I also do this which is why I am here.

When the lockdown first came in fish sales and prices hit the floor but they have steadily came back up again, not to their usual level but as I said before the low fuel price has offset this for the beam trawlers that burn loads of fuel. Interestingly the price of the prime fish ( sole, turbot, bass) are low but the lower value fish ( pollack, plaice, whiting) have held up so hopefully this may signal a change in the eating habits of the British public and they will realise there is a wealth of really good cheaper fish on their doorstep and not so much will be exported to the continent. I just checked Marinetraffic again and I don't think I've seen so many fishing boats out, all the big trawlers from Brixham,Plymouth and Newlyn are at sea. All except me in my little boat. Got up at 4 o clock to go spider crabbing after being tied up for weeks due to strong onshore easterly winds, picked up the first set of gear, got it up alongside can see a nice bit of crab in it thinking at last here we go, glanced in the wheelhouse to be welcomed by the lovely sight of a split hydraulic hose emptying the tank on to the floor. Had to drop the gear away and steam in for repairs without even getting a crab on board. One day my luck will change...

If you don't believe me go on the Marinetraffic website and look at the AIS tracks of the trawlers off the south west coast and mid channel. It is flat calm and every beamer and trawler that floats is out. Our local fishmonger has taken on extra staff to cope with demand and home deliveries. Not all is rosy I am a shellfisherman and oyster farmer, the oyster market has collapsed and at the moment I am fishing for spider crabs which are all exported to the continent mainly Spain. The price is not good but there is a bit of demand and it is increasing daily which will hopefully keep my head above water (not the best analogy for a fisherman!) this year.

Sorry Toxteth but the beamers and trawlers have not stopped, they are loving the low fuel prices which are offsetting the low fish prices. The volumes going through Brixham market haven't changed that much at all.

Nice little gathering there, you should try that Macallan though it might change your opinion of whisky!

Very true. My father always said: it's not what you know it"s who you know and being in the right place at the right time that counts. After over 30 years of self employment, by and large he was right?.

TurnipSwede Swede= bigger with flavoursome yellow flesh, essential ingredient of pasties. Turnip= smaller with white, more watery less tasty flesh. Inferior to swede except when served with haggis and tatties when it becomes one of the greatest culinary triumphs known to mankind. Either vegetable would make a better U.S. president than Biden or Trump.

Have been using a combination of 50lb Berkeley whiplash braid, Penn squall multipliers and Fladen Maxximus 10-20lb and 15-35lb solid carbon rods for some time now. All in a good price range and the Fladen rods have a superb action which will cope with fish well over their line class