South Africa: Fishing Companies Reeling Under Fuel Price Hikes

Fishing companies are under pressure as rising fuel prices translate into more costly catches in a market where price is determined by levels of supply and demand.

However, despite the rising fuel prices, Oceana Group and Foodcorp aim to catch their quota this year even if both companies face squeezed margins.
News agency AFP reported last month that one-third of ocean-going longline tuna fishing boats across the world could be forced to stop fishing due to rising fuel costs.

About 140 boats from Taiwan, China, South Korea and Fiji were not in use at the end of last month, the wire service quoted Yuichiro Harada, MD of the Tokyo-based Organisation for the Promotion of Responsible Tuna Fisheries, as saying.

Long-line open-ocean fishing mostly catches big-eye and yellowfin tuna , mainly for the Japanese market. Fishing of bluefin tuna is restricted by fears of extinction. The halt was expected to cause a supply shortage in raw tuna meat used for sashimi slices.

AllAfrica