DEEP-SEA fishermen have sent a mayday to the Government as increases in the price of marine diesel threaten to put them out of business. The cost of diesel has trebled since the start of last year, wiping out any profits made from the sale of catches. Hardest hit are the large beam trawlers, most of which are based in the South West.

Owners said yesterday that all 60 beam trawlers based in Devon and Cornwall could be tied up for good within four weeks as a result of the price increases that followed Hurricane Katrina.

Although the price of oil fell slightly in the past week, any reduction has yet to reach boat owners. The cost of refuelling a 33m beam trawler for a week’s fishing has risen in the past two years from £2,000 to £8,000.

Some captains have been paying their crews out of their own pockets and many fear that they will be forced into bankruptcy. Quite apart from the devastation to Britain’s remaining fishing communities, a dramatic reduction in commercial fishing would affect the supply of fresh fish.

Rick Stein, the restaurateur and TV chef who obtains all his fish fresh from trawlers in Padstow harbour, said: “It will be a tragedy if our considerable reputation for the best and freshest of seafood is diminished by a serious reduction of fishing.”

Fishermen’s leaders, who held a meeting with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) on Friday, were given cold comfort. They asked for either financial aid, to see them through the fuel crisis, or decomissioning money, to scrap boats altogether.

Paul Trebilcock, chief executive of the Cornish Fish Producers Organisation, was among those who appealed for help but came away empty-handed.

He said: “There was no aid package offered by Defra. The truth is I don’t think they’re ever going to do anything.

Defra will blame Europe, but it’s just an excuse.”

The fishermen were asking for “tying up” money, which allows them to mothball boats until the price of diesel stabilises; but the Government has so far refused to provide it.

Although the fishermen do not pay duty on marine diesel, a difference of a few pence in the price can wipe out the profits of a fishing trip.

Elizabeth Stevenson, of Stevenson and Sons, in Newlyn, Cornwall, said: “The beam trawl fleet in the South West cannot continue for more than a few weeks. Our family is subsidising its own business and running at a loss.” Stevensons owns 35 vessels and employs 200 people. The company has already tied up six of its twenty-four beam trawlers.

Graham Perkes, a skipper who runs the family firm Seafield Emile Trawlers out of Brixham, Devon, said: “Every fishing boat in Brixham has a bank account and every one is overdrawn. I am paying crews out of my own pocket. We’ll be tying up any day now. “The effects here will be drastic. For every one fisherman, six people onshore are financially dependent, from net makers to chandlers.”

Mr Perkes said that the last seven-day trip of his boat The Sasha cost him £8,400 in fuel. After running costs, the total takings for the boat amounted to £3,000, which is not enough to repay the loan on the vessel. The six fishermen were paid around £320 each.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Defra said that it was up to the fishing industry to consider carefully the long- term “sustainabilty” of the fleet.

The spokesperson added: “Members of the industry have proposed government support both for decommissioning vessels and for interim aid. The Government has made clear in the past its view that operating subsidies are not appropriate, but Defra will of course consider the proposals which have been made and will respond as soon as possible.”

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