29 May 2008

POLITICAL leaders in London and in Brussels were yesterday (Wednesday) left in no doubt that the fishing industry across Europe is at breaking point due to high fuel prices.

The two main UK fishermen’s federations joined forces in calling on the government to step in with help similar to the assistance given to the French and Spanish fleets.

In a joint statement by the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation and the National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations, the organisations’ chief executives Bertie Armstrong and Barrie Deas said urgent action was needed.

"The price of fuel at the quayside has doubled over the past year, with 40 per cent of the rise happening in 2008 so far. For significant sectors of the fleet this is a real threat to viability.

“We have had meetings at devolved government level, now is the time for consolidated action across the UK.

“We call for urgent discussions with the UK fisheries minister on a de minimis payment on the French and Spanish model and to agree an approach to Europe with the other main fishing member states to look at the whole issue of support for the European industry."

Meanwhile, delegates from three major European fisheries organisations met the European fisheries commissioner Joe Borg in Brussels yesterday morning.

The president of the European Association of Fish Producers Organisations (EAPO) Sean O’Donoghue, the vice president of the Association of National Organisations of Fishing Enterprises in the EU (Europêche), Javier Garat, and the Vice-president of the fisheries section of the General Committee for Agricultural Cooperation in the EU (COGECA), Giampaolo Buonfiglio expressed to him in graphic detail the major crisis in the fishing sector:

• a 320% increase in fuel prices over the last five years,
• the 40% increase in fuel prices since January 2008,
• a 25% reduction in prices of certain fishery products since January this year
• fish prices which are at the same level as 20 years ago.

The delegation made it clear to the commissioner that in the present circumstances, it is no longer economically viable for the European fishing fleet to continue to operate, as fishermen were unable to pass on fuel price increases to buyers.

The delegation demanded action on the following:

• to use the available means to control imports of fishery products to tackle economic, social and environmental dumping as well as the labelling requirements;

• to authorise Member States to apply temporary suspension of employers’ and workers’ social security contributions;

• to change the European “market” regulation to provide additional funding in order to increase fish prices and to allow for part or all of the fuel price to be included in the first sale price;

• to authorise Member States to co-finance the premiums on financial hedging contracts for capping fuel prices;

• to revise the EU regulation governing State aid for safeguarding and restructuring enterprises in difficulty in order to take into account the specificities of the fishing sector;

• to raise the “de minimis” aid ceiling to € 100,000 per vessel rather than per enterprise, so as to bring this aid into line with that granted to other industrial products;

• to set up an EU task force led by the Commissioner to implement the above-mentioned measures as well as those proposed jointly more than two years ago by the EAPO, Europêche and COGECA, covering the short, medium and long term;

• to have the crisis of the sector formally discussed at the next Fisheries Council on 23 June 2008 and to ensure that action is taken without delay.