The Port of Newlyn will be established as one of the front runners in meeting European regulations, even before they take effect, following a £300,000 investment in new weighing and grading equipment.

The move by Newlyn Pier and Harbour Commissioners will meet catch traceability requirements and secure better quality and higher prices. The commissioners recently completed the order for a fully integrated system from Nesco, the Hull-based business that was the only weighing and grading supplier to sit on the European fish industry's technical consortium on traceability.

That consortium led to the introduction of Tracefish - a voluntary standard for an electronic system capable of providing traceability from catcher to retailer.

The latest deal represents one of Nesco's biggest ever contracts and is seen by the company as a reward for its investment in research and development, particularly around traceability issues.

Newlyn has ordered 10 Traceways, a single lane grader and a twin lane grader with the aim of completing installation in October.

Investment in Traceway is only part of the larger project at Newlyn worth around £6 million, and the real significance is in the ground-breaking technology that convinced a range of partners to come up with the money.

Newlyn fisheries project officer Tony Woodhams said: "The partners include Newlyn Pier and Harbour Commissioners, the Newlyn Fish Industry Forum and Penwith District Council.

"We also had support from South West Pesca and our proposal was good enough to convince people in London and Brussels that the project was worth funding."

The Newlyn project is being watched throughout the industry.

"The key to it all was securing the funds and the support of the Fish Merchants' Association and then engaging Nesco and embracing the new technology to make it happen," said Mr Woodhams.

"We will be the first port to have full traceability linked to the European standard. The idea is to ensure traceability is there at every stage in the chain. You should be able to buy your fish and link it right back to the vessel that caught it, the time and the location. We will have that from October."

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