A number of fishing vessels in Boulogne have been tied up this week, in an unprecedented response to the crippling increase in the price of diesel.
The announcement by Prime Minister Jean Castex of support equivalent to €0.35/litre between now and the end of July will get the fleet back to sea and allow them to be profitable enough to pay crews a decent wage.
‘The fishing sector in Hauts-de-France is relieved at the Prime Minister’s decision,’ commented a spokesman for the Hauts-de-France Fisheries Committee.
‘In more general terms, what is needed is a solution at a European level. Our industry can’t cope with these frequent fluctuations in the price of fuel. Proposals have already been made for a fuel surcharge on the sector as a whole and a revision of European regulations in a way that would allow the sector to make the change from hydrocarbons as fuel.’
