It is said that in the Gulf of Mexico commercial fishing operation is a one-man show as fishermen have to go 35 to 80 miles offshore to target vermillion snapper, which took four-to-seven. Greg Secorie, a commercial fisherman, told that with competition from Asian markets, spiraling gas prices and heavy regulation, many fishermen are calling it quits. Capt. Joe Madden said that it is killing the industry.
It is fact that a few years ago, gasoline for a trip to the Gulf would cost about $500. Now, the same amount of fuel costs between $1,500 and $2,000. Then there’s the rising cost of bait and the 5,000 pounds of ice he needs during hot summer months. Jerry Sansom, executive director of Organized Fishermen of Florida, the state’s oldest commercial fishing organization, informed that limit regulations put more pressure on the fishermen and this result in declining numbers of fishing.
Sansom fears high gasoline prices may sink many commercial fishing operations. He added that the fishermen can ship shrimp over here cheaper than we can catch it, and that was true when gas was at $2 a gallon. He told that blue crabs, lobster and stone crabs still are viable, but sometimes they have to catch 300 pounds or more just to break even.
Perdido Bay Seafood co-owners Tom Allen and Joy and Johnny Hatfield said that the situation of market is become stiff and competitive. Allen told that they have average about 5,000 pounds of fish a week in the summer and 10,000 in the winter. Gulf seafood is in demand north of the border and, before heading home, the truckers head east, topping their loads at seafood markets in other coastal communities.
