by TREVOR YEARWOOD

The days of cheap fish may well be over!

Fishing boat owners issued this warning at the weekend, as complaints over the latest fuel price hike continued.

Meantime, operators of public service vehicles (PSVs) were calling for a bus fare hike or other relief because their diesel bills are up in many cases more than 50 per cent.

Boat owner Jimmy Rudder calculated that ice boats requiring $1 200 for a deep-sea fishing trip would now have a fuel bill better than $2 000.

"The days of $25 for 100 flying fish will have to go away or we will have to go away," he declared.

Rudder, who operates three fishing vessels, argued that raising the once-subsidised diesel price to boat owners from $1.23 per litre to $2.34 would severely "impact fishermen's wages and the returns for boat owners".

"Our prospects are not looking good," he admitted, predicting that "eventually" ice and food supplies as well as fishing gear would show price rises.

Rudder pointed out: "We have been trying to hold down prices at a time when other things, including food, were going up, but with these new diesel prices it means that fish prices will either go up or we will go out of business.

Henderson Ifill, who owns four fishing vessels, reported that his diesel bills had increased from about $2 200 to roughly $3 000 and from $1 200 to $1 600 on the different boats.

Other relief from prices

The time has come for fishermen and boat owners and operators to set a "reasonable" price for their fish that would allow all concerned "a decent living", he suggested.

The days of "cheap fish", including the days with hawkers buying flying fish at 30 cents apiece could be a thing of the past with the sharp rise in the fuel bill, he told the SUNDAY SUN.

Meantime, PSV operators are pushing for a hike in bus fares or other relief.

"Government should either raise bus fares or lower the fuel prices," veteran route taxi operator Shirley Holder suggested.

"The increase is not fair. It is too high and it is affecting all public service vehicle operators."

Holder said his fuel bill on the Forde's Road, St Michael route had jumped from $70 a day to $100, while David Mayers, who plies the Rendezvous, Christ Church route, complained his had climbed from $50 to $102 daily.

"This price increase is killing me," Mayers said. "To survive, we need adult bus fares to increase from $1.50 to $2 and the fare for children to go up from $1 to $1.50." Drivers on the "long-haul" routes such as Sam Lord's Castle, Bayfield (St Philip) and Sargeant Street (Christ Church) complained of diesel bills skyrocketing.

"I used to spend about $140 on fuel a day, but, since the increase in fuel prices it is costing me something like $240 and more each day to operate," said Ronald Lavine, who has been driving buses 15 years.

"That doesn't leave much money for a driver and conductor after the owner gets his share. I understand the Transport Board drivers get between $500 and $600 a week. I would like to get that. Right now I'm earning way below that."

Lavine admitted that with the pressure now on his earnings, "I don't think I can afford to leave people at the bus stop [when the van is full]".

Richard Lynch, who operates a minibus on the Pine/Wildey, St Michael route, said: "Some owners lease their vans at $400 to $450 a day. To get a decent wage, you have to look for at least $1 000 a day.

"I used to spend $80 on fuel a day and now I'm up to $140, but there are some drivers who have to spend $300 and more."

"I had one bus which brought in $450 [Wednesday] and it used $250 in diesel," said one owner, who preferred to remain anonymous.