DEATH threats from an anonymous telephone caller will not deter the fisherman known as "Nutty Noah" from pursuing porbeagle sharks, Cornwall chief fisheries officer Eddie Derriman says in his latest report.

Reviewing the last quarter of 2003, Mr Derriman recounts how skipper Martin Ellis, from Cadgwith, enraged conservationists with his haul of 130 porbeagles from three landings.

But Mr Derriman writes: "Other observers say that the numbers of porbeagle sharks in UK waters have increased dramatically in recent years, pointing towards the numbers caught by hake fishermen as a by-catch as an indicator of the population increase."

He adds: "Ellis is determined to continue tracing the fish and following them on their journey up through the Channel."

Mr Derriman also reports how scallop fishermen in and around the Fal area were incensed when Defra introduced an order aimed at protecting rare and fragile marine environments in the Fal and Helford estuaries. The temporary order will ban scallop dredging for one year to allow sufficient opportunity for a management scheme and possible Environment Agency bylaw to be introduced for the future.

Mr Derriman writes: "The fishermen working the area claimed that they had never fished on the ancient maerl beds which stretch across much of the estuaries."

Maerl is a habitat which supports diverse communities of animals and it is claimed by conservationists that this ban will actually improve the scallop fishing outside of the area, contrary to the fishermen's claims.