Events & News

Mousehole Harbour Authority is pleased to announce it has secured £100,705.59 in funding from the Marine Management Organisation’s Fisheries and Seafood Scheme (FaSS) to deliver key improvements for the harbour. The funding will provide a new harbour crane and five portable pontoons, each 11.5m long and 2.43m wide, which rise and fall with the tide and can be removed for community events such as the Sea, Salts and Sail Festival. These upgrades will make day-to-day operations safer and more efficient e.g., by  providing ladder free access, for those who fish from the harbour, while ensuring the space remains flexible and welcoming for the whole community.

Mousehole Harbour Improvements – Community FAQs

1. How much funding has been secured for the harbour?
   We have been awarded £100,705.59 from the Marine Management Organisation’s Fisheries and Seafood Scheme (FaSS). This investment is specifically designed to improve facilities for fishing communities and support sustainable coastal economies.
2. What exactly is being installed?
   Two main improvements will be made:

• A new harbour crane to make lifting and moving fishing gear, catch, and equipment safer and more efficient.
• A set of five pontoons, each 11.5m long and 2.43m wide, which float with the tide and provide safer berthing for boats.

3. Why are pontoons needed?
   The pontoons will provide safe, all-tide access for those who fish from the harbour e.g., by providing ladder free access. They will also make it easier for boats to load and unload safely, improving efficiency for our working harbour.
4. Will the pontoons change the look of the harbour?
   No permanent changes will be made to the harbour walls or Quay. The pontoons are portable and can be removed when needed, so the traditional character of the harbour will remain intact.
5. What happens during community events like Sea, Salts and Sail?
   The pontoons have been designed to be fully removable. For large events, they can be taken out so that bigger vessels can anchor alongside the quay as usual.
6. How will this benefit local fishermen?
   The new crane and pontoons will make daily operations safer and more efficient. Fishers will have more secure berthing, easier access to their boats, and safer handling of fishing gear and catch.
7. Will the improvements benefit the wider community?
   Yes. By supporting those who fish from the harbour, these upgrades help sustain local livelihoods and traditions. The improvements also ensure the harbour remains a safe, flexible space that can continue to host community events and welcome visitors.
8. When will the work take place?
   The project will begin shortly following final arrangements with contractors. We will keep the community updated on timelines and any temporary impacts on harbour access.
9. Who is responsible for delivering the project?
   The project is being led by Mousehole Harbour Authority, with funding support from the Marine Management Organisation’s Fisheries and Seafood Scheme (FaSS).
10. Who can I contact for more information?
    For questions or updates, please contact the Harbour Office or speak with the Harbour Master, Micky Bacon. Contact: harbourmaster@mouseholeharbour.co.uk. or 07944372289

Following a Commissioners meeting held 18th September we can now confirm that the baulks will be re-inserted on Friday 24th October.

Provisionally boats for storage on the wharf and car park will be removed from the harbour on Saturday 1st November. This date will be confirmed when the tractor is booked.

We have recently (6th September)  had handed into the Harbour office the following items.

Tesco bank credit card

Lloyds bank credit card

If you are the owner of either one of these cards please contact the Harbour Master on 07944 372289

Harbour Masters report from 29th July meeting.

At the risk of tempting fate glad to report no significant health and safety issues of note since our last commissioners meeting with works continuing to improve our facilities and estate where necessary. As always though, if you see something that concerns you please let me know.

On a much sadder (and frustrating note) I have had two reports of fuel can thefts from vessels mooring in our harbour. With that in mind I would recommend to all, that where fuel cans cannot be secured in lockers or wheelhouses that they be removed from vessels when you are not in attendance. Hopefully the incidences were linked and opportunistic and won’t be repeated. Our CCTV is now keenly focused on moorings to capture any future incidents which will hopefully deter any further thefts. CCTV aside if you see anything that looks suspicious please let me know via the office or mobile number contact details and I or Bill will endeavour to check things out as soon as we can.

With the summer holidays now in full swing it is evident that kayaks and SUPs are much loved and well used. As has been said previously we do allow storage of kayaks within the harbour but only for those that have paid and have an allocated storage entitlement. I have recently noticed that a small number of kayaks have appeared by the war memorial slip that aren’t displaying 2025 permits. All authorised kayaks have been issued with permits so if you are lucky enough to have qualified for a space but not applied your permit please affix your permit to your kayak now. After a period of grace I will be locking the non-permitted offending kayaks to our railings and awaiting calls from the owners seeking release. We don’t have any further spaces available this year so the owners will be asked to remove them.

I am also pleased to report that both the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) and the Cornwall Inshore Fisheries Conservation Authority (CIFCA) will be making visits to the harbour over the coming months. Mousehole has a large number of both commercial and pleasure crafts, many of whom as well as just bobbing around like to enjoy the fruits of the seas. For conservation reasons there are strict limits on who can catch what, how much and how big so the above organisations will be monitoring to ensure all that use our harbour as a base harvest both legally and responsibly. In order to help all with understanding and abiding by the rules I have obtained some adhesive infographic stickers to assist in following those rules. If anyone fishing for the table (especially for crabs, lobster and Bass) wants a sticker please let me know and I will arrange for stickers to be issued to you.

Back on land I am pleased to report that our ever willing and able Commissioner Chris Cass is well on the mend and progressing well with the construction of the new notice board for the harbour railings. Look out for the larger, new notice board coming to a railing near you soon !

Lastly for this months report, just a reminder that the annual punt race will take place next Sunday (3rd August) and all are welcome to attend and or participate. For specifics on rules and requirements please contact any of the punt race organisers. All funds raised will go towards the annual fire work displays that take place within the harbour.

Harbour Master’s report from 3rd June meeting.

Thankfully nothing too adverse to report this month with most things, with the exception of the clock working as expected. Despite Chris Cass’s best efforts our clock remains out of action and we now await a service engineer to diagnose and fix the problem.

Clock’s aside, I would like to pass on my thanks to Commissioner Gwennap for pressure washing and repainting the North Quay toilet block which, together with the recently completed internal refurbishments of our loos afford us some excellent facilities for visitors and locals alike.

Continued thanks too to my phonetic Duke of Edinburgh award volunteer helpers Charlie and Oscar who have regularly been helping me with various tasks around the harbour on a weekly basis. Keep up the good work boys.

On the health and safety front we continue to maintain a watching brief but as always if you see something or have any concerns please don’t hesitate to raise those concerns with us.

Finally, a quick reminder that the Mousehole male voice choir have their first Mousehole concert this Sunday and I am sure they would be appreciative of your support. Fingers crossed for the weather.

Harbour Master’s report from April 15th Meeting.

Once again Mousehole Harbour is “Open for business”!!

As all will have seen, the baulks are now up and vessels are returning to their moorings. Prior to that we undertook the annual sand relocation exercise to both save our sand from going out of the gaps and minimise the backwash from SWW infrastructure running around the harbour.

As previously mentioned, all boats mooring in our Harbour must have at least third party insurance and pay for the privilege of mooring in Mousehole. Pleased to say that compliance with these requirements is high, making Harbour Master life a little easier, freeing my time to address other issues.

On another note I am also pleased to welcome a couple of short term additions to the team in the form of Charley Bradley and Oscar Stocks. Charley and Oscar are working towards their Duke of Edinburgh Award and will be helping Bill and I with various tasks around the Harbour for the next couple of months to fulfil some of the requirements of the Award. Well done for engaging in this and good luck. (Bill and I promise we won’t work you too hard :))

Finally, can I ask all to exercise a degree of caution when crossing the harbour via the Wharf, there are currently two lots of scaffolding erected that impede access and unless wishing to walk under one of them requires pedestrians to walk on the uneven ground on the seaward side of the tarmac. Please take extra care.

Finally, finally, Happy Easter one and all.

Harbour Master’s report from February 25th Meeting.

A relatively quiet period since I last reported with routine activities comprising most of my activities.

We have undertaken a number of repair and maintenance jobs on the Harbour office, quad bike store and North quay toilet blocks, all getting a dose of TLC. My thanks must go to Commissioner Hills for taking the lead and enabling me to tick the jobs undertaken off my “to do” list.

More dates for your diaries now, with the baulks scheduled to be lifted on Friday 28th March (weather permitting) and the boats returning to the water on the 29th. Ahead of that we will be arranging for the sand that has washed down towards the entrance to the harbour to be moved back up the beaches, watch out for the digger in due course.

In relation to the boats going back in the water, as has always been the case, every boat is required to have at least third party insurance if it is to be moored in our harbour. With that in mind I will be requesting proof of insurance before boats are allowed back into the harbour this year. Quite simply, no insurance, no mooring!

On a lighter note I am pleased to draw your attention to a new infographic display signage we have introduced into the harbour that highlights the importance of the fishing industry to our economy here in Cornwall. The sign is situated on the railings on top of the pumping station, so have a look and see what the hardy fishers and associated trades add to our economy.

Finally for this report, glad to see Bill back in action, however please help me ensure that he doesn’t overdo it too soon and remind him that he’s in a marathon and not a sprint.

PS, we are aware that the red lights on the quay are “blinking”. The system needs a new specialist battery that is on order.

MOUSEHOLE HARBOUR AUTHORITY PARKING CHARGES

Car parking charges will be increased to the following in both the North and South Car Parks from 1^st July 2025:

1 Hour:             £2.00

2-3 Hours:      £3.00

3-12 Hours:    £6.00

12-24 hours:  £10.00

Mousehole Harbour Authority is always reluctant to increase its car park charges and tries to keep them as low as possible. However, the Car Park charges form the main source of income for the Harbour Authority.  The Harbour Authority’s costs have risen in recent years which have been marked by significant inflation. In particular, the cost of maintenance has increased dramatically. This has combined with a loss of car park revenue over the last year. The Harbour Commissioners have a duty to ensure that they are, at all times, in a position to pay for the maintenance of the harbour. They believe that it is necessary to raise the charges to ensure that they have sufficient funds to properly maintain the harbour in the future. Maintenance costs can be unpredictable and unexpected because the harbour is subject to the vagaries of the weather and sea.

The Harbour Commissioners have done their best to protect local residents and people working in the village from increases. The Harbour Authority provides heavily subsidised annual parking permits at a cost of £125 per year to local permanent residents. The Commissioners are not raising the costs of the permits. They have also introduced a new 3-12 hour parking charge of £6.00. This will ensure that tradespersons and others coming to work in the village will only pay a marginal extra charge of £1 per day.

The Harbour Commissioners would like to remind users of its car parks that the Harbour Authority’s charges have historically been and remain some of, if not the lowest car parking charges in Cornwall. They have not been increased for 3 years and when they were last increased it was only by a very small amount.

Thank you for your understanding

Jonathan Bradley

Chair of the Mousehole Harbour Authority Commissioners

Gail Angove

Vice-Chair of the Mousehole Harbour Authority Commissioners

Further to my post below, I can now report that the Harbour Commissioners have given the green light to my proposal to photograph dogs on our beaches and post photos of the same on the website in an attempt to reduce the problem. Please feel free to forward any photos that you may capture so that I can add these to the website.

Sadly there appear to be a number of individuals who disregard (intentionally or otherwise?) our Harbour rules on dogs on our beaches.

We have good reason for such a ban and it is frustrating that regular conversations need to take place to support the removal of dogs from the beach.

With that in mind I am proposing to seek permission from the Harbour Commissioners to post photographs of errant dogs (not the owners) running around our beaches on our website. I am hoping that this will nudge owners recognising their pooches into compliance, which over time will reduce the problem. Most of us do comply so should have little worry of seeing our dogs pictures in the hall of shame gallery.

Please feel free to feedback to me on the above idea or if you have any other ideas that could support us in maintaining the safety of our beaches.

Firstly, thanks to all those kayak owners who have properly complied with our request to remove their kayaks from the harbour which will allow us to “reset” and better identify kayak owners and manage their storage for 2025 and beyond.

Unfortunately there are a small number of kayaks that weren’t removed which have now been removed and are now stored under lock and key pending being reclaimed.

Additionally there appears to be a cunning kayak owner amongst us who has secreted his/her kayak between the punts on the wharf, which tenuously (at best) complies with our request but on this occasion we won’t be deeming it properly removed. We would be grateful therefore if the offending kayak could be properly removed within the next 10 days otherwise it will join the trio of other homeless kayaks being kept at our pleasure securely off site!

So, mindful of how quickly time seems to be passing, we have developed an application form to enable those wishing to store kayaks during the 2025 season to apply to store them.

Below is a link to an application form in Word format that should allow you to fill in the blanks, save them and then return the completed form digitally to the harbour master ideally by email to harbourmaster@mouseholeharbour.co.uk

If you prefer to complete the form in hard copy, please download it, complete it and return it to the Harbour Master, Harbour Office, Fore Street, Mousehole TR19 6PG.

Priority will be given to those applicants that previously stored kayaks in the harbour who also meet the qualification criteria of permanently living within the immediate area. Provided these criteria are met and the appropriate fee of £50 is paid to the Harbour Authority permission will be granted to store your kayak(s)within the harbour. There will be a limit on the number of kayaks allowed to be stored so an early application is advised. Once returned your application will be determined and if successful you will be notified together with information on payment options.

Kayak storage application form.  

Click on “Kayak storage application form” (above) to download