Latest news with #GeorgeStevens
Perth Now
2 days ago
- General
- Perth Now
Big £158k haul of Mediterranean octopus caught near Channel Islands
A Cornish trawler caught £158,000-worth of Octopus. Enterprise, a beam trawler based in Newlyn, Cornwall, England, were fishing in Mare Deep, an area near the Channel Islands, when they caught a 20 tonne-haul of Mediterranean octopus. Skipper George Stevens told BBC News: "The figures were adding up in my head and I thought, 'This is going to be a good payday.' "I rang one of the crew while he was in the supermarket to tell him how much money I'd just put in his account. I imagine the staff saw some strange reactions." The rise in octopus in British waters is having a big affect on the shellfish inustry because the eight-limbed animal eat the crabs and lobsters out of the fishing pots. But George thinks he has done the shellfish industry a "favour" by getting rid of some octopus. He said: "The unfortunate thing is that it's been affecting the shellfish industry really badly. But one man's famine is another man's feast and, by getting rid of a few, we've done the industry a favour." George said sorting out the octopus after they had been caught was challenging. He explained: "These octopus have very big tentacles and they're very grippy. "My crew only have two arms each and these have eight legs. It was quite entertaining to watch them try to peel them off their bodies. "They're very fast-moving, were climbing down the elevator, climbing over the bins and up the walls. "But once they went down to the fish room and touched a bit of ice, they became a bit more sedate."
BBC News
3 days ago
- General
- BBC News
Octopus catch adds to record £158k haul for Newlyn fishing boat
A massive haul of Mediterranean octopus has helped a Cornish trawler land a catch worth a record £158, Newlyn-based beam trawler Enterprise was fishing close to the Channel Islands when its crew made the huge catch, a port record in terms of value, crew members 90% of the catch, some £142,000-worth, was the octopus, which has seen its population explode in UK waters this influx has caused problems for the shellfish industry in south-west England because octopus eat crabs and lobsters out of fishing pots. Enterprise skipper George Stevens said he had "done the industry a favour" by getting rid of a few. The 42m (138ft) beam trawler was fishing in an area off the Channel Islands known as the Mare Deep when its nets were filled to bursting with nearly 20 tonnes of George Stevens, who has been at the helm for the last 12 months, said: "The figures were adding up in my head and I thought: 'This is going to be a good payday'. "I rang one of the crew while he was in the supermarket to tell him how much money I'd just put in his account. I imagine the staff saw some strange reactions. "The unfortunate thing is that it's been affecting the shellfish industry really badly. But one man's famine is another man's feast and, by getting rid of a few, we've done the industry a favour."It is not the first time the Enterprise has set a port record for Newlyn - it held the previous record for the biggest haul of £87,000 in 2022. Mr Stevens said processing the huge catch presented its own said: "These octopus have very big tentacles and they're very grippy. "My crew only have two arms each and these have eight legs. It was quite entertaining to watch them try to peel them off their bodies."They're very fast-moving, were climbing down the elevator, climbing over the bins and up the walls. "But once they went down to the fish room and touched a bit of ice, they became a bit more sedate." Paul Trebilcock is the manging director of W Stevenson & Sons Ltd, which owns the said: "The catch was processed at Newlyn fish market and bought by one of the largest suppliers in the South West, Ocean Fish based in Roche, and then the vast majority was exported to Spain, Italy and France."We don't see it much in restaurants here. But, who knows, this is a new fishery for us, so maybe in the future we'll see it on plenty of restaurant menus." Last month, shellfish fishermen in Devon complained an "invasion" of octopus was "decimating" the is thought the octopus is coming from Morocco, as fishermen there are reporting a shortage of the creatures.
