«Professional fishing cannot continue like this. Diesel is our raw material: without fuel, fishing boats remain in port and businesses die.”
Thus the Sicilian Shipowners Federation which has called a meeting for today. «Our request to the Meloni government is clear: we need – explains Fabio Micalizzi – a strong and immediate response. We ask that a ceiling be assessed on the price of diesel fuel intended for professional fishing, compatible with national and European standards.” The Federation says it is ready “to block the Strait of Messina”.
In Sicily, it is remembered, there is a double front of the protest against high fuel prices: on the one hand the hauliers who today meet the regional councilor for Infrastructure, Alessandro Aricò; on the other, the shipowners who still today bring together the Sicilian navies in an extraordinary meeting to decide on the next initiatives. So the shipowners’ proposal is this: in ordinary conditions, aim for a cost for fishing companies of no more than 0.40-0.50 euros/litre; in the current exceptional situation, in any case no more than 0.60-0.70 euros/litre, through the fiscal, compensatory and support instruments permitted by law. Tax credits, tenders and projects «are not enough if today the shipowner does not have the economic convenience to start the fishing vessel.
We are not asking for yet another sop”, they warn: “We are asking for a measure that addresses the problem at its root: how much a fishing company really has to pay for the fuel needed to work. If the cost of a fishing trip exceeds what the company can earn, the result is inevitable: boats stopped, crews out of work, businesses at risk of closure and less Italian fish on our markets. The government should use all available tools and immediately open a discussion with the category.”