Fishermen protest over fuel prices

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The fishermen say their livelihood is "uniquely vulnerable" to rising fuel prices and they need urgent and immediate support from the Government to help them survive.

Dozens of protesters from Scotland, the North East, Cornwall, and Northern Ireland gathered outside the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) in London to urge ministers to come up with an aid package.

The protest was timed to coincide with a meeting between fishing industry leaders and UK Fisheries Minister Jonathan Shaw and Scottish Fisheries Minister Richard Lochhead at Defra to discuss the issue.

The National Federation of Fishermen's Organisations (NFFO) and the Scottish Fishermen's Federation (SFF) say the impact of the fuel crisis on fishing vessels has gone "beyond critical" and boats cannot operate viably at current fuel price levels.

Barrie Deas, chief executive of the National Federation of Fishermen's Organisations said: "The fishing industry finds itself in a double bind: we cannot simply pass on our costs because we sell our fish through the auction system, creating a terrible problem in the industry.

"Boats are going out to sea to fish for five days in terrible conditions and we're not getting enough to even pay our crews."

He said the industry urgently needed an aid package to temper the immediate impact of spiralling prices. "We have to adjust to an era of high fuel costs but we have got to do that in an orderly way," he said.

Scottish fishermen taking part in the protest said fuel prices had risen by 100% over the past year, with 40% of the rise happening over the past five months. The Scottish Fishermen's Federation said fuel now accounts for 30% to 50% of the costs of a typical fishing trip.

The protesters were joined by French fishermen, who were showing their solidarity for the cause. According to the NFFO, French and Spanish fleets are already being given the EU cash. As well as the immediate support, the federations want to see a long term rescue and restructuring plan to help the fleet adapt to high fuel costs.