Earlier this week they claimed they were being hit by the double whammy of soaring fuel costs and falling prices for their lobsters, which they blamed on 'excessive' imports of Canadian lobsters.

Many boat owners in Bridlington, where the bulk of the shellfish fleet is permanently based, have said their vessels are being put up for sale because it has become uneconomic for them to carry on. Others have said they have started to steam more slowly or will not put out in windy weather just so they can conserve fuel. They claim it now costs £2,500 to fill each fuel tank, compared with £1,500 in January and the price of their lobsters has dropped from £16 to £9 a kilo.

But the Fisheries Minister said in a local BBC TV interview last night that while he sympathised with their plight, he did not think direct fuel subsidies was the best way out of the problem.

He said: "I know that other European countries like Spain are giving their fishermen fuel subsidies for a short time, but that's not going to tackle the problem. The reason for this is because we do not know how much further oil prices are going to go this year or when we will reach the top of this fuel spike."

Mr Shaw said the UK had never given direct fuel subsidies but assured the Bridlington crews that it was looking at other ways of helping the fishing industry.

"I am going to do what I can, but I cannot simply get out a cheque book," he added. "But I do want to work with the fishermen in other ways to see if we can find a solution."

Meanwhile, Robert Goodwill, Conservative MP for the neighbouring port of Scarborough says he has been trying to uncover how much is paid in fuel subsidies by other EU countries to their fishing fleets. However, due to "red tape and secrecy" this has been unsuccessful.

He was told by Jonathan Shaw recently that the European Commission did not routinely publish information on fuel subsidies in member states. Mr Shaw said in his reply: "I have received no information from the Commission in the last 12 months."

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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