School children from across Cornwall have benefited from hands on experience of Cornwall's fishing industry over the last few months.
The Net to Plate project, sponsored by Cornwall's largest fish processor, Falfish, and the Cornish Fish Producers Organisation (CFPO), helped fund over 200 students from six Cornish schools to visit Newlyn, the heart of Cornwall's fishing industry, or be visited by representatives of Newlyn's fishing sector. The schools involved were: Bolitho School (Penzance); St Catherine's Church of England Primary school (Launceston); Newquay Tretherras School; Threemilestone School; Cape Cornwall School; and St Piran's School (Hayle).

The Net to Plate funded events, organised and coordinated by Seafood Cornwall Training, included a range of activities such as: visiting Newlyn Fish Market and harbour; climbing aboard and exploring the RNLI Penlee Lifeboat whilst learning about safety at sea; visiting W. Harvey's and Sons shellfish tanks where the students enjoyed looking at and touching all the different species of shellfish native to Cornwall; and a tour of the Fisheries Protection Vessel. Many of the visits finished with a tasty and sustainable fish and chip lunch on Newlyn Green or breakfast at the Royal National Mission to Deep Sea Fishermen in Newlyn. Sarah Crosbie, Manager of Seafood Cornwall Training, explained, "Bringing children to Newlyn meant that they could see, feel and breathe the fishing industry, a key part of Cornwall's heritage and economic future. We adapted each visit to suit the children's ages and needs and thanks to the support received from Falfish and the CFPO, these visits were offered free of charge. We are confident that we shall be able to offer more funded school visits during 2012, under a new project which is all about encouraging children to eat seafood."

Andy Wheeler, from the CFPO and a fisherman himself, visited Threemilestone School to talk to children in years 3 and 4 about the different types of fishing boats, fishing techniques and fish species native to the South West. He took with him a box of mixed fish species, donated by Falfish, and some spider crabs, for the children to see and touch.

Andy Wheeler explained, "The CFPO is delighted to be able to support Seafood Cornwall Training in providing school trips and visits. When visiting schools I always take fish with me into the classroom as it fascinates the children and the crabs are definitely a big hit. If schools have a chance to visit Newlyn, the children can see the boats and the fishing gear for real, as well as visit the fish market and witness the auction process, how the fish is graded and all the different species, and of course all the children love visiting the lifeboat. Coming to Newlyn to learn about fish and fishing is a fun and exciting way for children to reinforce their learning in subject areas such as Maths, Science , Geography, and Catering, as well as gaining a greater understanding of where the fish they eat comes from."

Nicki Coleman, from Threemilestone School commented, "We had a wonderful time learning lots of exciting new facts about fishing from Mr Wheeler who brought the excitement of the sea into the classroom. Having the interaction with a fisherman and handling real fish brought the topic of fishing to life. The children were riveted from start to finish and it certainly brought the Wow factor into the lesson."

Mark Greet, Falfish Managing Director and sponsor of the Net to Plate project, commented, "It's really great to see the children enjoy learning about the fishing industry and Newlyn harbour. I am pleased to be able to support this project which encourages Cornwall's school children to come and see what really goes on in the county's fishing industry. Who knows, some of them may be the fishermen, filleters or chefs of tomorrow, as well as consumers."

Marina McMenamin, the Design and Technology Coordinator at St Piran's School, Hayle, enthused, "It is a fantastic trip and well organised at a level the students understand. For us the visit was part of a whole week of fish related activities throughout the school that included fish cookery, a local artist coming to the school to paint with the students and even a French class based on fishing. The students learnt about the fish market and the different types of fish caught from Newlyn. They thought the lifeboat was fantastic and the shellfish tanks were definitely the highlight of the day. It was a very good trip and I couldn't have asked for better."

The children at St Piran's School also commented about the trip. Molly said, "I loved touching the small shark and holding the spider crab and the brown crab. I liked going in the big fridge and in the RNLI boat. I also liked the two lobsters. Thank you for inviting us!" While Reece explained, "I learnt that herring and sardines are from the same fish family and I enjoyed holding the crabs and touching the fish and stroking the lobsters and the crayfish."

Bryony Bates, the Advanced Skills Teacher for Food Technology at Cape Cornwall School enthused, "this was a really good learning experience for my catering GCSC students aged 15 to16, and provided supporting knowledge for the curriculum. I would really recommend this to other secondary schools as the students learnt such a lot. After the trip we continued with fish cookery at school and the students made fish h'orderves. We have also just won a Taste of the West School local produce award and as part of the application I included information about this trip to Newlyn."

She continued, "The students were really keen as it was a 6.30 am early start at the fish market. After that Andy took us to look around the boats, explaining the different ways fish are caught and the state of fish stocks and conservation. By chance, while we were there, a fishing boat was landing pilchards and the fishermen took the time to chat to the students about where they'd been fishing and how they fish, while the students looked down onto the boat at the fishing gear. We had a child in a wheelchair, who was accommodated on the trip, and managed to clamber onto the Fisheries Protection Vessel which was also moored alongside at the time."

Jacqui Drew, from Newquay Tretherras School explained, "We used the tour to Newlyn as part of our activity week in school where our focus was Cornish Week. During the week we reproduced traditional Cornish food items using as many locally sourced ingredients that we could find and also taste tested a number of traditional Cornish goodies. The tour to Newlyn gave our students a valuable insight into the big fish industry Cornwall has, they were shown where fish caught are stored and sold and many of the different varieties available to restaurants, shops and consumers."

"The children thoroughly enjoyed the day and were very grateful for the free fish and chip lunch they were provided with. It was a glorious very hot sunny day and the staff at Seafood Cornwall Training were very hospitable and provided lots of cold squash for the students! The staff also thoroughly enjoyed the day and thought it was extremely informative!"

Vanessa Currah, a Class 4 teacher at St Catherine's Church of England Primary school, Launceston added, "It was a fantastic morning, the children have been so enthusiastic about the visit. Thanks for a brilliant day, but it's the children themselves, who can tell you what they thought!"

Merryn from year 4 commented, "The best thing about our trip was when I could hold the crabs and lobsters. It was really fun and interesting when my group could go on the lifeboat." While Joseph said, "The best thing about our trip to Newlyn was everything, especially when I had to be weighed on the fish market!" Conner from year 2 commented, "My favourite part of the day was holding the Spider crab, it was very heavy", while Lucy said, "my favourite part of the day was going in the lifeboat and looking at the engines."

Seafood Cornwall Training would like to hear from your school if you would like to be involved in a new funded project planned for 2012, which aims to encourage even more children from Cornwall, to enjoy eating seafood as part of a healthy diet as well as learning about the Fishing Industry from Net to Plate. To find out more contact Sarah or Emma at Seafood Cornwall Training on 01736 364324 or visit www.seafoodcornwalltraining.co.uk