High fuel costs could reduce tuna fishing: industry group

(AFP/File)

Rising fuel costs may force one third of ocean-going long-line tuna fishing boats across the world to halt operations, an industry group said Thursday.

About 140 boats from Taiwan, China, South Korea, Fiji and elsewhere are already standing idle at port, said Yuichiro Harada, managing director at the Tokyo-based Organisation for the Promotion of Responsible Tuna Fisheries.

"Another 260 boats are considering suspending operations, bringing the total number to about 400" out of 1,174 boats operated by members of the organisation, Harada told AFP.

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I have been hearing this from fishermen throughout Asia and Pacific. High fuel prices are making their fishing unprofitable. In my case, I have been focusing on shark fining operations. Without a doubt, we need fuel prices to remain high if we want sharks to have a hope. I for one will happily pay the fuel surcharge to reduce fishing and finning.

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I have been hearing this from fishermen throughout Asia and Pacific. High fuel prices are making their fishing unprofitable. In my case, I have been focusing on shark fining operations. Without a doubt, we need fuel prices to remain high if we want sharks to have a hope. I for one will happily pay the fuel surcharge to reduce fishing and finning.

would they not just put there prices up like everyone else !!!! or are they not that clever.

Apart from probably not being that clever there is also the classic demand and supply curves to look at.

Demand may be there but if supply is going down the price will be going up anyway.

If the other boats joined back in raising their prices the supply would be back up and prices would drop. The raise in fuel prices will merely make the supply curve shift to the left. This doesn't necessarily mean the prices will rise, but if the companies do choose to raise prices the deman curve will also probably shift left, which will bring the price back down. The overall result is less quantity of shark fin on the market. less demand and supply.

Shark Fin may not end up following this, but I don't believe it si a real snob good (one where people will pay unearthly prices for it) I think it is just so cheap right now and is being marketed as a snob good.

So raising fuel prices will lower the quantity fished. However to sustain that lowered quantity we actually need the fishermen to raise their prices ! Which will lower demand.

To add to this: Much of the shark fin caught today is done by tuna fleets. I would go to say that most tuna fleets are shark finning fleets with base costs covered by tuna sales. The companies that own the fleets make their money on the tuna. The captain and crew make their money on black market sales of shark fin. Both parties don't get greedy. Crew doesn't ask for pay raises and companies don't interfere with shark fin business.

Shark Fin may not end up following this, but I don't believe it si a real snob good (one where people will pay unearthly prices for it) I think it is just so cheap right now and is being marketed as a snob good.

Interesting, though they could be sitting on profit if the demand leaned to being more elastic. In Las Vegas last year the prices were $68/$128 Shark Fin Perhaps there is some help in keeping demand down by keeping prices up, though I would guess someone who will spend $128 while in Las Vegas could just as well spend $300 and not blink either. It maybe more to the people on the fringe who would actully try it for $20.

interesting. today in the uk we have been hearing all over the radios that many european fishermen are protesting over fuel. the french have been blockading ports for the last week. in fact, the entire portugese fleet stayed at home today to protest over fuel prices.

is it arrogant to suggest that the writing is on the wall for many commercial fishing interests?

i can't see fuel going down. the world is facing a wide ranging recession, and inflation will play its part will it not?

I think it is scary that energy alone has such a huge influence on the behavior of fishermen. Maybe for now fuel prices will keep some fishermen from going out, however I am sure that there will be a point in time in our future where new sources of energy will come at a much lower price. One can guess what will happen with global fish stocks than...