John Hermse, secretary of the Mallaig and North-west Fishermen’s Association said that fishermen were now beginning to panic and the concern was spreading through all sectors. He said that fishermen could see no way of covering the cost of fuel and making enough money to keep them going throughout the poorer fishing conditions through the winter.

Mr Hermse said: “Fishermen rely on their earnings through the spring and summer to get them through the winter months. I have been inundated with calls from fishermen and people are no longer just concerned, they are beginning to panic because they see their job as unviable. In the last two years, fuel has gone from around 25% of the cost of running a boat to around 55% of costs, and that is just not sustainable. They can’t sell the boats and they can’t tie them up because then they don’t earn anything at all, but they are looking for a bit of leadership from Government.”

The escalating fuel price is also beginning to hit processors. Alasdair Urquhart, who is an agent for the Fraserburgh-based Iceberg Ltd, which exports processed fish and shellfish, said that fuel prices were hitting hard. Mr Urquhart said: “In the last year and a half, my fuel costs have doubled. I used to pick up prawns every day from ports such as Portree, Uig, Dunvegan and Portnalong in Skye. Now I try to pick up every second day to reduce fuel costs. The load then connects with a lorry coming from Lochinver and it goes to Fraserburgh for processing. It is then taken by road haulage to markets in Spain, Portugal, France and Italy, using diesel at every stage of the journey.”

He said that the escalation in fuel prices was also beginning to affect the haulage companies used to take the produce to mainland Europe. Mr Urquhart said: “Last year we had eight or nine haulage firms to choose from. That is now down to four because the rest say that runs to the Continent aren’t viable. Last Monday we had a call to say haulage costs would be increased by 6% with immediate effect. You can’t blame the hauliers, and you can’t put prices up, because people will simply stop buying because there is the threat of a recession in parts of Europe as well. Profit margins have already been squeezed so we can’t reduce the price to the fishermen. Some of my family are involved in the tourist trade and their fear is that people will simply stop travelling to the Highlands, because of fuel costs.”

He added: “In cities they can use public transport. In the rural areas we have no option and fuel prices are the main topic of conversation throughout this area. I would like the Government to bring in a subsidy by post code area, and that would help everyone. Everything comes in by road and the price of food is becoming alarming as well. Countries such as Spain and France are helping fishermen, and it should be possible to do the same here.”

John Hermse said that they needed immediate Government action and that they couldn’t wait for the proposed meeting with Rural Affairs and Environment Secretary Richard Lochhead, on May 12. “This crisis is upon us and needs a meeting now, not in two weeks’ time. We began pressing the fuel issue four months ago and we were promised then that there would be an investigation into the help given to fishermen in France and Spain, but nothing has happened. The fishing industry is approaching meltdown. The West Coast pays more for fuel to start with and then there is a further premium to get the produce to processors or foreign markets. We need action now, because people are being put into an impossible situation,” he said.

www.fishupdate.com is published by Special Publications. Special Publications also publish FISHupdate magazine, Fish Farmer, the Fish Industry Yearbook, the Scottish Seafood Processors Federation Diary, the Fish Farmer Handbook and a range of wallplanners.

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