Fisherman at lowest point in the price chain
I have been a fisherman since 1984 and I have never seen whiting and haddock as plentiful as this year. Despite this, it is the fisherman who suffers yet again.
We get 30 cent a kilo for whiting and haddock, with 50% waste. The gross cost to the retailer is 60 cent a kilo for fillets, but the housewife is paying anything from €7 to €11 a kilo!
Not once ever have I seen a good word about the industry in the Irish Examiner.
There are eight families earning an income from our boat. We work a rota system with four men on and four off.
We are not “cowboys trying to catch the last fish in the sea.” We’re only trying to make a living.
It’s not easy as 25% to 30% of our gross income goes on oil. Please cut us some slack.
Johnny Walsh
Featherbed Lane
Kinsale
Co Cork
