Fuel prices hurt charter fishing

It’s 50 miles from the docks of this Eastern Shore fishing village to the deep-ocean canyons where the big fish swim, and Capt. Frank Large’s charter boat guzzles gas all the way.

Plowing through the ocean, the Nita Dream gets less than 1 mile to a gallon of diesel fuel. The boat’s twin diesel engines burn 25 gallons an hour. On an offshore trip, the Nita Dream consumes roughly $1,000 worth of fuel.

Large tries to pass on some of the rising costs of fuel to his customers, but where are they? He has only four bookings for trips the rest of the summer. No one even inquires. “It’s unbelievable how the calls have fallen off,” he said. “Nobody wants to go fishing.”

InRich