THE future of Looe's inshore fishing fleet, already experiencing one of the worst years in living memory, is under a fresh threat after the new safety code for boats under 12 metres was announced by Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott on Friday.
To meet the code the fishermen will have to find up to £3,000 for equipment, plus annual inspection fees at a cost of more than £75 an hour.
On top of all this their diesel bills have increased and there are rumours that talks have started about the possibility of opening up the mackerel box – a large area stretching out to mid Channel, closed to deep sea trawlers except for pilchard fishing, and open to handliners only.
To Looe's fleet of about 20 small vessels the box is their lifeline.
With most fishermen barely scraping a living, they say the new safety code is unnecessarily expensive and could force some of them out of an already fragile industry.
Chairman of Looe Fishermen's Protection Association, 71-year-old Billy Hocking, said no one in the fleet was against safety, but opposed to the bureaucracy and expense of the new measures. 'They haven't talked to the fishermen' he said, 'they have just come up with the code telling us to install equipment which all the fleet at Looe already has and would not set sail without, yet they haven't included the obvious item - an anchor'.
Mr Hocking said the fishermen had had a shocking year with everyone finding it difficult to survive and he fears the extra expenditure will mean many pulling out of fishing for good. 'This could be catastrophic for Looe' he said.
Owner and skipper Phil Dingle, who is the fifth generation in his family to fish from Looe confirmed this week that his trawler 'Paravel' worth about £150,000, is up for sale. 'Fish prices are stable but we are just not catching enough and my fuel bill has doubled in 12 months' he said. 'Everyone is just ticking over. It's a very tight living compared with five years ago'.
Skipper of Maxine's Pride, Dave Peach said the fishing from Looe was so bad that he was spending more and more time away from home. 'I would not be surprised if half the fleet decides to shift ports this winter' he said.