£20-a-day fishermen quit as fuel crisis bites
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YOUNG trawlermen are quitting the fishing industry as wages slump to poverty levels of as little as £20 a day, it emerged last night.
Soaring fuel costs and rock-bottom prices for landings were last night blamed for the exodus of catchers.
But many skippers, who spend around £10,000 on diesel every trip, are said to be “trapped” in the industry while they repay bank loans.
In the last four years, fuel costs for boats has quadrupled – but the quayside price for fish is much the same.
Some cod fishermen in the north-east have tied up their boats rather than waste their days-at-sea quotas catching cheap fish that would not give them a good return.
The new Fishermen’s Fuel Action Group (FFAG) said the situation was at crisis point.
Spokesman Ross Skinner said: “Crews’ wages have fallen by more than 60% in the last 18 months.
“It’s not uncommon now for an individual crew member to get paid as little as £200 gross for a 10-day trip. That’s just £20 a day.
“No wonder young fishermen are getting out. Many are looking at moving into the oil sector, and who can blame them with pay this low?
“But the skippers are trapped. They've got bank loans to pay so they can’t just pick up and leave.”
Mr Skinner called on the UK Government to provide cash aid for fishermen.
“Every other sector, including farming, seems to get help when it needs it. Why are fishermen always left out?”
In France, skippers have been given 310million euros (£245million) to help pay for fuel by imposing a 2% tax on fish and shellfish imports from the UK.
The action group estimates that fishermen in Britain get just 15% of the price paid for fish by the customer.
Haddock sold at £5.50 per kilo in supermarkets is bought for as little as 80p per kilo on the quayside.
Peterhead prawn fisherman Jimmy Buchan says in his online blog that 10 years ago fuel cost about £250 a day. “Today we are looking at £1,000 a day.
“Fuel is four times the price, yet we would be lucky if the price of our catch has doubled in the same period.”
The skipper of The Amity added: “It is now getting to a serious situation where it is taking 50% of the value of our catch to keep Amity fishing.
“That means Amity and her crew are earning half of what they were this time last year.
“My biggest fear is that my crew will have to leave to seek work in another industry.”
Bertie Armstrong, chief executive of the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation, also called for financial aid.
He said: “Without support we could be facing collapse.”
Over the last eight years, the UK fleet has been reduced by 65% and is the only one in the EU at a “sustainable level”, claims the FFAG.
The group says the industry was last given a direct subsidy in the 1970s. It estimates the cost to the government of unemployment benefits if the industry collapsed would be £13.5million a year, excluding loss of tax revenue.
solutions
Meanwhile, the Scottish White Fish Producers’ Association, along with other organisations, has applied for Marine Stewardship Council accreditation, which is considered the top benchmark for sustainable fishing.
The scheme could see fishermen getting more money for catches but retail prices would have to rise.
A spokesman for the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs said: “UK Fisheries Minister Jonathan Shaw is committed to working with fishermen to find solutions.
“What is needed is a long-term approach, not just short-term assistance, that helps the fishing industry adapt to rising fuel prices.”
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