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By HOLLY RANSON
TASMANIAN fishermen are struggling to cope with fuel bills that have risen by about 60 per cent in the past 12 months. Commercial fishermen are worried as their profit margins are being hit, while recreational fishermen say they now have to weigh up whether the boating experience is worth it.
Tasmanian Fishing Industry Council chief executive Neil Stump is the latest industry leader to speak out about the impact of spiralling fuel costs.
He said all operators were feeling the bite, "particularly (fishermen) in the abalone industry who operate planing hull boats to bring live product back".
"It's really hitting some of the Commonwealth-managed fisheries like the trawl fishery and the northern prawn fishery hard, because they're bigger boats and they use a lot of fuel."
Mr Stump said diesel had jumped from just over $1 a litre to almost $1.90 in a year, cutting profits and forcing fishermen to look closely at their businesses.
"People are going to have to really look at how they operate, what sort of vessels they operate and how they operate them," he said.
"They're not getting a real increase in income but they've got a significant increase in input costs.
"If we look at our two key fisheries, rock lobster and abalone, we haven't had a real increase in (product) price for eight or nine years. In fact for abalone, the price has actually gone backwards slightly. Abalone fishermen were getting $45 a kilo, now it's about $40 a kilo.
TASMANIAN fishermen are struggling to cope with fuel bills that have risen by about 60 per cent in the past 12 months. Commercial fishermen are worried as their profit margins are being hit, while recreational fishermen say they now have to weigh up whether the boating experience is worth it.
Tasmanian Fishing Industry Council chief executive Neil Stump is the latest industry leader to speak out about the impact of spiralling fuel costs.
He said all operators were feeling the bite, "particularly (fishermen) in the abalone industry who operate planing hull boats to bring live product back".
"It's really hitting some of the Commonwealth-managed fisheries like the trawl fishery and the northern prawn fishery hard, because they're bigger boats and they use a lot of fuel."
Mr Stump said diesel had jumped from just over $1 a litre to almost $1.90 in a year, cutting profits and forcing fishermen to look closely at their businesses.
"People are going to have to really look at how they operate, what sort of vessels they operate and how they operate them," he said.
"They're not getting a real increase in income but they've got a significant increase in input costs.
"If we look at our two key fisheries, rock lobster and abalone, we haven't had a real increase in (product) price for eight or nine years. In fact for abalone, the price has actually gone backwards slightly. Abalone fishermen were getting $45 a kilo, now it's about $40 a kilo.
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