You know that the war in Ukraine will have consequences here, yet sometimes they manifest themselves in places you don't expect them to.

The Fishermen’s Guild based in Motril Port foresees that it will have to tie up its fishing fleet because of the price of diesel.

You expect that this trouble with Russia will have pushed up road transport costs, which means that just about everything else in the country will go up, but you forget about those small fishing boats that make their way in and out through the port’s entrance.

They have already had to undergo a period tied up for a parada biológica (giving fishing grounds a rest) and have only just returned to fishing this month.

Under present EU fishing regulations they are allowed to fish during 170 days this year but now, with the price of diesel rocketing it is just not economically viable at present to weigh anchor so it is better to save their permitted fishing time for later use.

According to the Chairman of the guild, each boat generates between 1,200 and 1,500 euros a day in catches but this is eaten up by the tremendous rise in the cost of fuel.

To give an idea of the increase, during the month of January the price of diesel for the fishing industry was 0.59 euros per litre whereas at the moment its 1.08 euros; i.e., an 85% increase. When you take into consideration that a trawler soaks up about 700 litres a day…

Now, if you could guarantee that you will bring home a catch, that’s one thing, but if you don’t return with one, that’s over 750 euros of fuel costs and no catch to cover that cost nor the salaries for the crew.

And if you think it’s expensive to fill the tank in your car, bear in mind that to fuel up a trawler in January you were looking at between 3,200 and 3,500 euros – now it’s closer to 7,500 euros.

Editorial comment: special thanks to Pilar García-Trevijano for her article in the ideal newspaper for the facts and figures contained here.

(News: Motril, Costa Tropical, Granada, Andalucia)