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A LINE of beamers tied up at Newlyn quay: a
sinister sign of the present oil price situation which is preventing
the fuel-hungry vessels from getting out to sea.
Paul
Trebilcock, chief executive of the Cornish Fish Producers Organisation,
which represents the views of Cornish fishermen, said only six of
Newlyn's fleet of 24 beamers were out at sea.
“That's
primarily because of fuel prices. Beamers are usually out in their high
teens at any one time, but not this week, and the trouble is
beamer-trawled fish makes up the majority of fish going across the
market in terms of value and general revenue; if beamers are struggling
and tied up it's not good news for Newlyn,” he said.
Robin
Turner, a Newlyn auctioneer for the inshore fleet, said: “This decline
drives up the price by the supply and demand market and means merchants
and end users don't have enough product to deal with. In Newlyn there's
no economic hinterland between fish and bankruptcy; the village is
employed by the fishing industry and so many jobs are dependent on it
and if the products reduce much more it will jeopardise local jobs.”
W
Stevenson & Sons, the Newlyn-based company which operates the
largest private fleet in the UK, owns 16 of the port's 24 beamers.
Elizabeth Stevenson, company manager, is also president of the
National Federation of Fishermen's Organisations (NFFO), which has
written to fisheries minister Jonathan Shaw following his refusal to
grant aid to help them deal with the period of high fuel prices.
Asking “Where now, Mr Shaw?” Mrs Stevenson challenges the Minister to come up with another plan.
article copyright WESTERN MORNING NEWS
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