A political price of diesel for fishing, with a ceiling between 60 and 70 cents per litre, to avoid the risk of an irreversible crisis in the maritime sector. This is the request made to the institutions by the Permanent Center for the Coordination of Local Fisheries Policies of the Trapani Fisheries Gal and by the operators in the sector, gathered this morning.
The Trapani fleet is in a state of agitation: activities have stopped and fishermen have left their on-board documents at the harbor master’s office as a sign of protest against the responses deemed insufficient by the regional and national governments. In ten years the price of fuel has tripled, while the income of the crews has collapsed by 85%, say the fishermen.
«We are all aware that the cost of diesel has become unsustainable for the future of the sector. We are working on proposals that can guarantee long-term solutions”, said Natale Amoroso, president of the Trapani Fisheries Organisation. «We asked the Region to verify, in view of the financial maneuver, the possibility of identifying resources to support the sector. The discounts introduced at national level are only temporary: we need a planned policy that allows operators to continue working” he added. The data presented by the coordination illustrates an increasingly difficult situation. Between 2016 and 2019, subsidized diesel cost between 40 and 55 cents per litre. After the energy shock following the war in Ukraine, the price increased, reaching today 1.40-1.50 euros per litre. Meanwhile, the value of wholesale fish remained under pressure from foreign competition and declining consumption. Without structural interventions, according to operators, professional fishing risks losing businesses and jobs.