Fishermen wince as fuel costs climb

LE GUILVINEC – A protest by French fishermen last year forced President Nicolas Sarkozy to promise steps to cushion the effects of high fuel costs on the industry, but soaring oil prices have piled on the pain.

“The main problem we have is the price of fuel,” said Marcel Le Roy, who owns seven boats. “It represents between 25 and 30 per cent of turnover, which is enormous.”As crude oil has climbed above US$108 a barrel, the cost of marine diesel has risen to about 57 cents a litre, almost double the 30-cent ceiling fishermen say they need to stay below to remain profitable, casting gloom over France’s fishing regions.”The price of diesel has become unbearable for fishermen,” said Christian Berrou, manager of the fish market in the Breton port of Le Guilvinec where scores of boats unload and sell their catches of monkfish, langoustine and sole each day.Consumers may complain fish is expensive, but the price obtained by fishermen at the market is only one part of the final cost once transport, packaging and processing is factored in, and there is little room to pass on higher fuel costs.”The price of fish fluctuates.There’s supply and demand.It depends on the quantity there is on the day,” said Berrou, whose market handles almost all the catch brought to Le Guilvinec.Declining stocks have led to a 40 per cent cut in the French fishing fleet since 1990 and the country’s 24 000 fishermen have grown used to bad news but the latest fuel rises touched off five days of strikes at Le Guilvinec and other ports.Sarkozy was given a hostile reception when he visited but he vowed not to abandon the industry and the government promised an aid package worth 310 million euros over three years, funded by a tax on fish sales, to modernise the fleet.The president also questioned the European Union’s quota system, designed to protect dwindling stocks, although the government quickly backtracked in the face of dismay from its partners, saying it only wanted greater flexibility.Nampa-Reuters”It represents between 25 and 30 per cent of turnover, which is enormous.”As crude oil has climbed above US$108 a barrel, the cost of marine diesel has risen to about 57 cents a litre, almost double the 30-cent ceiling fishermen say they need to stay below to remain profitable, casting gloom over France’s fishing regions.”The price of diesel has become unbearable for fishermen,” said Christian Berrou, manager of the fish market in the Breton port of Le Guilvinec where scores of boats unload and sell their catches of monkfish, langoustine and sole each day.Consumers may complain fish is expensive, but the price obtained by fishermen at the market is only one part of the final cost once transport, packaging and processing is factored in, and there is little room to pass on higher fuel costs.”The price of fish fluctuates.There’s supply and demand.It depends on the quantity there is on the day,” said Berrou, whose market handles almost all the catch brought to Le Guilvinec.Declining stocks have led to a 40 per cent cut in the French fishing fleet since 1990 and the country’s 24 000 fishermen have grown used to bad news but the latest fuel rises touched off five days of strikes at Le Guilvinec and other ports.Sarkozy was given a hostile reception when he visited but he vowed not to abandon the industry and the government promised an aid package worth 310 million euros over three years, funded by a tax on fish sales, to modernise the fleet.The president also questioned the European Union’s quota system, designed to protect dwindling stocks, although the government quickly backtracked in the face of dismay from its partners, saying it only wanted greater flexibility.Nampa-Reuters