Up to forty percent of Albanian fishermen could be heading for bankruptcy amid rising fuel prices, with many not having set sail since March.
The situation is due to significant price hikes for fuels, caused by the fallout of the Russian invasion into Ukraine and sanctions on Moscow that are set to include oil.
The Inter Institutional Martime Operational Centre told BIRN that compared to 2021, the number of fishing vessels active in all ports of the country declined by 40% while in some places, such as Shengjin, it had halved.
In Shengjin, 141 fishermen were active in the same period of 2021, while this year, only 72 set sail. Across the country, this number was 2535 last year but is 1539 today.
This is due to the cost of oil used to fuel their boats. In spring 2021, a liter of fuel was 70 lek, whereas now it is 150 lek, more than double.
Prior to the crisis, Albania’s fishing industry had been on the up, according to data from INSTAT. In 2020, 16,800 tonnes of fish were caught when compared to just 12,500 in 2016.
Fishermen said that it can cost them 20,000 lek to take the boat out meaning the cost, far outweighs what they can earn from their catch. This has resulted in a shortage of seafood in restaurants across the country and increased prices, causing problems for restaurants and the hospitality sector.
