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Fishing fleets in Newlyn, West Cornwall, could be
facing financial disaster after the worst winter weather in more than
30 years has kept them confined to port.
Since
November, many boats have been able to grab little more than half the
days at sea they would normally expect. Skippers' incomes have been cut
in half, leaving them unable to pay crew.
Paul Trebilcock, head
of the Cornish Fish Producers' Organisation, said the weather could
cause economic disaster for fishing communities. He said small vessels,
up to 40ft, had suffered most, with many seeing income down by "at
least half". Some vessels had only been able to take advantage of 14
days at sea since the beginning of November. And he said: "In some
cases, crews have had to go three or four weeks without a wage. That
means it becomes very difficult to retain crew. Those vessels may find
it hard to find crew members when they can go back to sea."
Brixham
is unaffected by the bad weather, because the surrounding waters are
shallower and more sheltered. Fishermen operating there are enduring
tough conditions to reap rewards, particularly on cuttlefish.
But
Newlyn Harbourmaster Andrew Munson said: "I have been here since 1969
and I have never known such a long spell of bad weather in all that
time.
"In the past we have had the odd severe storm out there
which has been short, sharp and then went away. But this has just been
one low after another after another."
A further spell of windy weather at sea could wreak havoc, he said.
"It could be quite a disaster if March is like February or January.
"People
are running on reserves at the moment, we are on reserves, the fishing
boats will be on reserves and the merchants will be on reserves.
Everyone has bills to pay."
Crews do not get paid if they don't
work, the harbourmaster's revenue is related to the amount of fish
landed and merchants rely on being able to sell fresh fish at good
prices.
But bad weather does not mean expenditure is nil; in
port boats still have to be maintained and taxes paid. It is worse
still if a boat is out at sea and working in the face of bad weather as
they cannot fish and would be using fuel riding out the storm.
Mr
Munson said many skippers were desperate: "I had a French boat in here
recently and they had been out for 14 days, but only been able to fish
for five days. The rest of the time they're just burning fuel."
Elizabeth
Stevenson, partner at W Stevenson, which owns the biggest fleet at
Newlyn, said the weather might have been mild, but out at sea it was
disastrous: "It has been an extremely bad winter. There are some boats
that haven't been to sea for weeks or more.
"We have had maybe
12 days fishing in February and a similar amount in January. On average
I would have expected to get around 21 days fishing in those months."
The
company owns and runs about a fifth of the ships out of Newlyn and has
been hoping for a good year with fuel prices dropping and quotas easing.
Miss
Stevenson was unable to put an exact amount on how much fish landings
were down: "Everyone is finding it equally hard because of the weather.
"You just have to sit it out."
article copyright WESTERN MORNING NEWS
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