No squidding - CTHULHU's oil conspiracy

[Taro Toporific]

High fuel prices keep fishing fleets in port -- and they're not squidding
June 18, 2008 - Mainichi Daily News --... The national cooperative of squid fisheries kept its more than 3,000-member squid trawlers in port Wednesday and plans to stay docked again Thursday because rising costs make it worthless for them to go out and catch the fish...more...

[Buraku]

Japanese Squid Boats Strike Over Fuel Costs

http://www.lloyds.com/CmsPhoenix/Dow...aspx?id=395123

More than 3,000 of the about 4,500 squid fishing boats in Japan were being kept idle at port, the national federation of fisheries cooperatives said.


"We are facing such risks," Hiroyuki Noto, deputy chairman of the national association grouping squid fishermen, told a rally in Tokyo.


"We definitely need comprehensive measures from the government," he said as dozens of fishermen wearing blue headbands raised fists and yelled in unity.


Japan has one of the world's largest fishing industries but virtually no natural energy resources.

[Buraku]

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/...id-Protest.php

"Fuel costs are simply too high, and many squid fishermen are operating in the red," Takahama said. Fuel costs for squid vessels have jumped more than 50 percent from a year earlier.

"Business is severe due to rising fuel costs, and we want the public to know," Takahama said.

Squid vessels consume a lot of fuel because fishermen use oil to light lamps on the ships to lure squid, he said.

Japan's fishery agency said the move would not likely impact squid prices.

[Taro Toporific]

Japan's fishery agency said the move would not likely impact squid prices.

As much as I would love to harpoon the J-fishery Agency, they are right about squid prices.

Global warming is good if you like calamari.

Catches of "finfish" have plummeted over the past decade but the cephalopod catch has increasing. Squid populations are no longer limited by their food resources because chronic overfishing has removed their natural competitors in seas. The fish that squid used to complete for food resources with have now been fished out by Japanese fishing practices, leaving squid with much more to eat and they are growing in population. The market is flooded with squid, consumer demand is low, and prices have crashed.

[Iraira]

I miss Muhammed Saeed al-Sahaf.

[Edsheadsaid]

Me too, its rare to see such a die-hard optimist on TV anymore.

[Charles]

..rising costs make it worthless for them to go out and catch the fish..

Yeah, it takes so much fuel to keep the boats afloat. Until gasoline and diesel powered engines were invented, it was totally impossible to use ships for fishing.

[Mulboyne]

Mainichi: Fishing federation plans 'No Fishing Day' across Japan to protest rising oil prices

A nationwide federation of fishing cooperatives has decided to hold a country-wide "No Fishing Day" to raise public awareness of the burden shouldered by fishermen in the face of soaring fuel prices. The National Federation of Japan Fisheries Co-operative Associations (JF Zengyoren), to which about 1,100 fisheries cooperatives belong, will hold the no fishing day on either July 15 or 16. JF Zengyoren proposed the plan to the Japan Fisheries Association (JFA) on Wednesday afternoon. If the JFA, whose members are mainly engaged in deep sea fishing and offshore fishing, agrees with the plan, most fishing -- including tuna and bonito -- will be subject to the measures. The unprecedented move is aimed at making the government, relevant industries and consumers aware about the fishermen's plight amid skyrocketing of oil prices. An increasing number of fishery operators are suffering losses as the price of heavy oil, used by fishing boats as fuel, has increased by about 2.7 times over the past five years, now costing over 100,000 yen per kiloliter.

Since JF Zengyoren also plans to urge the fish culture industry to suspend shipments of sea bream and other fish, fish prices are set to rise, albeit temporarily. When about 3,000 squid fishing boats held no fishing days on June 18 and 19, some supermarkets did run short of squid, but prices were not largely affected by the shortage. "We have had no fishing days due to bad weather in the past, and if the measure ends in a day this time, it would have little effect on the prices and arrival of fishes," said a representative of a major supermarket. Restaurant owners are similarly unworried. The 65-year-old owner of a sushi shop in Tokyo's Chuo-ku said, "Fish are imported from around the world, including South Korea and China, so sushi ingredients won't run out."