European Fishermen Protest Fuel Costs

By ALAN COWELL
Published: May 31, 2008

PARIS — Commercial fishermen across Europe launched new protests Friday against soaring fuel bills, blockading ports and refineries in France and handing out fresh fish for free in Madrid.

The protests against diesel fuel costs have been simmering all week, with truckers in Britain blocking highways and fishing vessels halting port traffic on the English Channel in France.

Outside the Ministry of Environment, Agriculture and Fishing in Madrid, news agencies reported that hundreds of angry fishermen handed out 20 tons of fish to consumers lined up at trucks loaded with the catch of Europe’s biggest fishing fleet. Spanish union leaders claimed the strike among fishermen had 100 per cent support.

The Spanish government has not responded to the protests but more trouble is on the way: truck and taxi drivers are threatening a strike next week.

In Portugal, fishing fleets also stayed in port and in one harbor at Peniche, in central Portugal, skippers strung their boats together with mooring lines to prevent other vessels from unloading. Portuguese fishing boat owners, who employ some 21,000 people aboard almost 5,000 boats, were pressing demands for government help by choking off the supply of fresh fish to markets.

The wave of strikes and protests has alarmed the European Union, which said Friday it was following the situation closely. But some officials ruled out fuel price subsidies and said the protests had highlighted a deeper problem in the European fishing industry: too many fishing boats chasing dwindling stocks of fish.

The number of species that are over-fished in Europe has risen to nearly 90 percent, European Union officials warned on Friday. Because of higher fuel costs, fleets are likely to try to catch more in coming months to make up for fuel-related losses, intensifying the problem. In Italy, fishing unions claimed widespread support for a strike Friday while in France, where the protests have continued for more than two weeks, fishermen blocked the port of Le Havre.

Apart from lower fuel prices, the fishermen are also demanding higher government subsidies.
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