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Commercial Fisheries News
Volume 35 Number 8
April 2008
High fuel costs pose greatest threat yet
Commercial fishermen in the Northeast have proved to be incredibly resilient over the years as they have continuously adapted to ever-changing management demands. But the skyrocketing price of fuel poses a new and different kind of threat, and it is urgent that the region’s congressional delegation, state lawmakers, and fishery managers take stock of its growing affect on their constituents.
In late March, diesel fuel prices were all over the map, a reflection of the extreme volatility in the market. But one thing was sure: Even at its lowest, fuel was more than double – and in some places triple – what it was a couple of years ago.
In New Bedford, Paul Anthony of Sea Fuel Marine Services Inc. reported that, in March, the per-gallon cost of marine diesel hit an “unheard of” high of $3.74. On March 27, it was $3.61.
The new federal standard that went into effect last October requiring fishing and other marine vessels to use low-sulfur diesel added five or six cents to the price. However, the rest was due to increased worldwide demand, the plummeting value of the US dollar, and other factors completely out of fishermen’s control.
The cost to fuel-up a typical 100' scalloper for one trip is now around $36,000. For a good-sized dragger making a seven-to-eight-day trip, the cost is around $15,000.
In a letter to US Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI) that also was forwarded to CFN for publication, Rhode Island fisherman Joel Hovanesian spelled out what the increase in fuel prices has meant to him. Loading 3,000 gallons of fuel onto his boat, which would have cost about $3,000 a few years ago, now costs $10,000. That staggering expense, paired with restrictive fishing regulations that dramatically cut his catches, means he no longer can afford to go fishing. Hovanesian has tied up his boat and told his three crewmen to find other jobs.
This hard scenario is now being played out up and down the coast. People in every fishery are struggling to square the cost of a trip with the return on their catch and are coming up with a net loss.
It’s a classic Catch 22. Anthony said, “This is the first time I remember fishermen wanting to know how much it’s going to cost them before they take on fuel. But they have to have it. If you don’t go fishing, you don’t make any money. It’s a real struggle.”
Fishermen aren’t the only ones experiencing this squeeze. Truckers, including those who move lobster, fish, and shellfish from the dock to market, are desperately trying to make lawmakers and the public understand that they no longer can afford to operate. While some businesses pass along increased costs to the consumer – spreading out the pain and making it a little easier to bear – fishermen and lobstermen rarely have that option.
And if they can’t afford to fish, what then?
Once again, we must point out that fishing is the economic engine that supports coastal communities from Maine to North Carolina – states that are all suffering from the general slow-down of the nation’s economy. For fishermen in rural areas, there simply are no employment alternatives. But even for fishermen in places where “banging nails” in the construction sector has always been the employment backstop, construction jobs have dried up.
Many of this region’s state and federal lawmakers went to the wall to provide critical fuel assistance to low-income families this year. Now, they need to turn their attention to the impact of fuel prices on the fishing industry. People shouldn’t freeze in their homes, and fishing boats that provide life-sustaining jobs shouldn’t be forced to tie up due to the combination of exorbitant fuel prices and overly restrictive fishing regulations. /cfn/
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