Fuel costs ‘a killer’ for fishing industry

Vance Hazelton of Digby says fuel for fishing boats last year ran about 65 cents a gallon, but is now about $1.09. “The price of fuel is a killer,” he said. “All producers are finding fuel a huge thing. Fuel has gone up probably close to 40 per cent in the last year.”

Hazelton said the provincial government announced a $2 million subsidy for farmers earlier this year to help offset fuel costs, but has offered nothing for the equally hard hit fishing industry.

The problem is compounded because high costs make it more dificult to attract crew and that has become a problem through the fishing, he said.

Many have gone west to the oil patch or found work offshore. “Fuel is the crew’s expense so if last year you were paying $250 a day for fuel and this year you’re paying $400 and you’ve got three men, that’s $50 per man per day that they’re not making. So even on a four-day week that’s an extra $200 a week that they were making last year if nothing else changed,” Hazelton said.

A fishing crew pays for fuel for a trip as well as the food they eat. On most of boats, the crew also pays for wear and tear on gear, said Hazelton.

Whatever is left is split among the crew.

Digby-Annapolis MLA Harold Theriault recently explained some of the difficulties faced by some crewmembers because of rising costs.

In remarks in the Legislature about the impact of fuel costs, he recounted the plight of a particular boat in the Digby scallop fleet and how the cost of fuel has made earning a living next to impossible. “The crew caught over $6,000 worth of scallops,” Theriault said. “After fishing nearly 100 hours and paying the fuel and grocery bill, the four crew members had earned just $90 apiece.”

Hazelton said he is unaware of any boat in crew in those particular circumstances, although he admits the possibility exists. “But there’s a lot of things that play in it. It depends how many crew there were, how much running around did they do on their fuel.”

Hazelton said food and gear costs have also climbed, but that hasn’t been matched by higher prices paid for scallops. “I know in January we got a dollar a pound more for scallops than we’re getting now, but fuel right now is a killer in the fishing industry, anywhere.”

In his remarks at Province House, Theriault called for political intervention and fishing, trucking, food, farming and tourism are all feeling the impact of rising fuel costs and said the effects of suffering industries will be felt in every Nova Scotian household. “People are teetering on the brink of financial disaster and by continuing to ignore this grave situation, the government will push them right over the edge.”