In a letter to Minister of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality Henk Staghouwer, Dutch associations VisNed, de Nederlandse Vissersbond and PO Delta South have requested support measures for the fleet.
They state that problems keep piling up – including the challenges presented by Brexit and wind farm expansion – but the sharply increasing price of fuel as a result of the war in Ukraine has thrown the demersal fleet into chaos.
‘Nobody knows how long it will take for the oil prices to drop back to normal levels. It is certain that the fleet will go under without government support,’ they state.
A diesel price of €0.45/litre has long been regarded as the turning point at which profit turns into loss for a trawler. At the moment, the diesel price is around € 0.80/litre.
‘This means that all trawlers are running at a loss, some more than others. No fishing company can sustain this. In the demersal fishing chain, the parties have agreed on a fuel price surcharge for a maximum of four weeks out of necessity and in the absence of government support. In this way, the fishermen get some compensation for the high fuel price, but this does not offer a long-term solution. The trade can only pass on the surcharge to the customer for a limited time, until they decide to switch to cheaper alternatives. In the short term, the industry organisations are appealing to the government for support measures, which are made possible by the launch of the European Union crisis support package,’ the associations state in their letter to the Minister.
They accept that in the longer term, the fleet will have to become less dependent on fossil fuels, and government support is also desperately needed for this. They suggest that a positive step in the right direction could be the reintroduction of pulse fishing, while subsequently financial support to boost innovation in the propulsion of fishing vessels would help in talking steps towards new low-emission fishing vessels.
