Rising diesel prices have forced South Australian commercial fishers to cut their time at sea by up to half, as global oil uncertainty linked to the Middle East conflict continues to drive costs higher.
Kyriakos Toumazos, a second-generation lobster fisherman and current executive officer for Seafood Industry South Australia, said the need to reduce trips by 50% has prompted commercial fishers to rethink how and where they operate.
“We’re trying to become far more targeted in our fishing in order to reduce fuel consumption by anything up to 50 per cent if we can,” he told The Advertiser.
“That means cutting down operational hours in a day and shortening the length of trips at sea.”
Operators are also limiting their catch opportunities by staying closer to the port rather than travelling further to other fishing grounds.
Toumazos said SA’s regional operations are currently holding up and are supported by consistent fuel access. This contrasts with parts of the Northern Territory and Queensland where some operators are struggling to access diesel supplies.
Port Lincoln, often described as Australia’s seafood capital, has remained well supplied due to direct fuel deliveries.
However, Toumazos warned that ongoing diesel shortages or further price increases could make it difficult to sustain normal fishing levels.
“You’re always trying to balance catch value costs in a business,” he said.
“For us, it’s not just the diesel that we use on the vessels that’s impacting the bottom line; it is the whole logistics … transporting fish, transporting goods, manufacturing some of the fishing equipment that we use. So everything gets impacted when fuel prices increase.”
This pressure on fuel supply comes as the Victorian government announced a $4.6 million fuel inspector task force to address worsening shortages, with Consumer Affairs Minister Nick Staikos emphasising stricter enforcement of fuel pricing laws.
Source: The Advertiser
