Record high diesel prices are putting the squeeze on B.C. commercial fishermen, making it harder for some operators to keep their boats and crews on the water. At a downtown Victoria dock Friday, Finest At Sea was unloading an estimated 4,500 kilograms of spring salmon after a trip near Haida Gwaii. For owner Bob Fraumeni, the catch came with a steep fuel bill. “It just takes the profit right out of it,” he said. Fraumeni owns a 13 vessel fleet and said rising diesel costs are also affecting his crew. “It’s really bad for the crewman because they get paid on a percentage of the profit of the catch, so as you take the profit out, their wage drops immediately,” Fraumeni said. He worries some crew members could leave the industry for jobs with more stable incomes. “When you can’t get crew guys, you can’t take the boat out,” he said. The financial pressure is being felt on both coasts. On the East Coast, lobster is the top seafood export for the three Maritime provinces. Fisherman Carl Allen said operators are facing difficult decisions as fuel costs continue to climb. “At what point can I not eat that cost and I have to put that onto the consumer?” Allen said. Dan McTeague of Canadians for Affordable Energy said diesel prices have been setting records and were averaging about $2.78 per litre across Canada. He said prices on the West Coast could soon surpass $3 per litre, adding another challenge for businesses that rely heavily on diesel. “We are only starting the diesel demand season, which means bad news for consumers,” McTeague said. Higher fuel costs can also affect the price consumers pay for food. Dr. Sylvain Charlebois of Dalhousie University’s Agri Food Analytics Lab said diesel prices are closely linked to food prices at the grocery store. “The correlation between diesel prices and the food prices that you see at the grocery store is one of the highest of all factors,” Charlebois said. Back in Victoria, Fraumeni is hoping to weather the storm in hopes that diesel fuel prices will soon come down. “In the fish business, you are always going through rough seas all the time,” said Fraumeni.
