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Published: 16 June, 2008: FISHupdate.com
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A letter has been sent to Jonathan Shaw
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THE fuel crisis in the fishing industry has claimed some of its first victims, with the announcement that the large Cornish trawler firm W. Stevenson and Sons is to lay off up to 16 members of staff.
It is not known yet how many fishermen are involved, but the company said in a press release that higher fuel prices were firmly to blame and all areas of its business would be affected.
It added that Newlyn based W. Stevenson and Sons was committed to continuing to play a major role but the redundancies were necessary to safeguard the jobs of the remaining employees and fishermen.
W. Stevenson & Sons has been in business since the early 1800s and operates one of the largest privately owned fishing fleets in the UK, with vessels ranging in length from seven to 39 metres.
The fleet of 35 vessels uses various fishing methods including beam trawling, netting, trawling and seining, with a total crew of 150. The company has a shore staff of 90 people, plus in addition to sea going fishermen.
The fishing port of Newlyn, which is a major employer in an area where jobs are already scarce, has been particularly badly hit by the fuel crisis and several of its vessels have been tied up because they cannot afford to go to sea.
Paul Trebilcock, chief executive of the Cornish Fish Producers Organisation, which represents the views of Cornish fishermen, said only six of Newlyn's fleet of 24 beamers were out fishing.
Robin Turner, a Newlyn auctioneer for the inshore fleet, said: “This decline drives up the price by the supply and demand market and means merchants and end users don't have enough product to deal with.
"In Newlyn, there's no economic hinterland between fish and bankruptcy; the village is employed by the fishing industry and so many jobs are dependent on it and if the products reduce much more it will jeopardise local jobs.”
Elizabeth Stevenson, company manager of W. Stevenson and Sons, and who is also president of the National Federation of Fishermen's Organisations (NFFO), has written to fisheries minister, Jonathan Shaw following his refusal to grant aid to help them deal with the period of high fuel prices.
It is understood that local fishing leader met with the with the Marine Fisheries Agency at the weekend to discuss the crisis and the long term affect on the port of Newlyn.
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