MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Galician fishing companies demanding an increase in fuel bonus for the vessels

According to Opromar, despite the measures put in place by the Government, RD 6/2022, the bonus of €0.20 per liter is totally insufficient.

The Galicia fishing lobby from Puerto Marin, Opromar, is complaining it is suffering the impact of sustained increase in fuel prices and is demanding action from the Spanish government.

According to Opromar, despite the measures put in place by the Government, RD 6/2022, the bonus of €0.20 per liter is totally insufficient. Today, the price of fuel in the Spanish ports where most of the country's fleet operates is already over €1.20/liter (without the discount), which is much higher than the price in force three months ago (approximately €0.85 per liter).

On the other hand, the fleet that carries out its activity in international waters and within the framework of the EU agreements with third countries, is paying prices that today reach 1.50 Euros per liter (such is the case of ports in Panama, Peru, Uruguay...) and around 1.35 Euros per liter in the ports of Mauritania and Dakar. This fleet, with the added handicap of not being able to access the bonus of €0.20/liter.

To all this must be added the constant increase in costs' operations of fleets that fish abroad, derived from the prices of fish transport and maritime freight, the costs of containers and packaging, gear, baits, etc.

Opromar says that if this situation continues, it will lead to stoppages of vessels in ports, since it will not be possible to bear these costs, or pass them on to the price of fish, unlike other economic sectors.

For all these reasons, it is necessary to urgently adopt measures to alleviate the situation, specifically the following,

•Extend until December 31, 2022 the bonus of €0.20/liter for the supply of fishing fuel and also apply to the fleet that does not bunker in Spanish ports.
•Establish a compensation mechanism for fleets that have loaded fuel overseas, retroactive to April first 2022, equivalent to a bonus of €0.20/liter
•Implement the measures contemplated in article 34 of RD 6/2022 “Measures to finance the additional costs derived from the increase in production costs in fishing”, including production costs, such as fuel
•Increase the current de minimum aid threshold for the fishing sector, up to at least 200,000 Euros per company.