Fishing boats are also on strike in protest; the government has allocated 10 million
Italian fishing fleets are taking action against the high cost of diesel. The Council of Ministers is allocating a non-repayable grant equivalent to 10 per cent of expenditure from June to mid-October to cover the increased costs incurred in purchasing fuel
Italian ports are full of fishing boats that have been grounded in protest against high diesel prices and European policies that are reducing fishing days and imposing ever more obligations on businesses. The protest, which arose spontaneously amongst fishing communities and is centred in the Northern Adriatic, highlights a crisis that is jeopardising the sector’s economic sustainability. The main factor is the cost of fuel, which, in some cases, accounts for over 60 per cent of operating costs.
Thursday 22 October was a busy day, during which some concrete answers were provided. At its latest Cabinet meeting, the government allocated €10 million in non-repayable grants to business owners: an amount equivalent to 10 per cent of expenditure from June to 15 October to cover the increased costs incurred for the purchase of fuel.
An initiative that has been welcomed by organisations and trade unions. “We empathise with the difficulties faced by our fishermen and are pleased that our requests have, once again, been met,” comments Paolo Tiozzo, vice-president of Confcooperative. For Coldiretti Pesca, “this is an important step towards addressing the crisis facing fishing fleets, which have been forced to reduce the number of trips at sea due to energy costs”. Federpesca is also satisfied, expressing the hope that “the funds will reach all businesses as soon as possible, ensuring a vital injection of liquidity to sustain their operations”.
According to Legaccop Agroalimentare, ‘we are recouping, at least in part, the higher costs incurred by businesses due to the associated fuel price rises’. According to Terra Viva (CISL), ‘this is a first positive sign’.
In short, this is a breath of fresh air for the fishing industry, where the figures clearly confirm the crisis. For a medium-sized trawler, the rise in diesel prices results in up to 45,000 euros in additional costs per year; based on an estimated consumption of 180,000 litres, annual expenditure has risen from 144,000 to 189,000 euros. This is at a time when a full tank for a fishing vessel has come to cost as much as 16,000 euros.
