Bleak New Year for fish hauliers
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BLEAK New Year is forest for fish hauliers — and my may "go to the wall." Operators at North East rts have been hardest hit d will have a hard time after tristmas as supplies of cod d haddock dry up.
With the end of the "cod ir" truce, British trawlers lye now pulled out of elandic waters. North Sea [Mock fishing has also been .nned to preserve stocks. Common Market officials e negotiating for a new ;reement between Britain id Iceland, but so far no ttlement has been reached. Meanwhile, Mrs Margaret imunds, Road Haulage Asciation secretary at Hull, id that the trawler withawal "will have a very subantial effect on our embers. Many may go to the all."
Mr Tom Burt, the managing rector of Jacmill Transport, ull, told CM that his cornmy had already been very Tiously hit.
"I had 135 vehicles on the fad last year, but now it is ist 98," he commented.
"After the last Cod War Atlement, a quota system • as imposed and the trawler eet was cut in half. Last July 'e had six trunkers running .om Hull and five from leetwood. That has come own to two from Hull and )ur from Fleetwood."
Mr Burt said that the prob.m was not only confined to -unk work. Distribution vehiles on second stage work rere also presenting diffiulties.
"This side of the fleet hasn't et been cut, but the vehicles re carrying reduced loads. Ve are all carrying less with he same number of lorries, so osts have obviously icreased," added Mr Burt. Fish fryers were having only half the usual quantities, but the number of deliveries stayed the same.
Mr Jim Horrocks, manager of Grimsby Fish, a BRS subsidiary, thought that there would inevitably be a reduction in work.
"It is a bit too early to say just what will happen. It will probably be about six to eight weeks before the position becomes clear," he said.
"We are in a different position to most because our vehicles are under contract to the Grimsby Fish Merchants Association, the largest in Britain.
"We are confident that despite the terrible setbacks we have suffered we can weather the storm."
But the Grimsby Fish Merchants Association were not so confident.
GFMA secretary Mr Ken Beeken told CM that they were in for a worrying time after Christmas. "We shall have to look at reducing our haulage contracts."
With the same number of vehicles running, but with smaller loads, costs were being pushed up. The bulk of material was needed to keep the contract scheme going.