High crude oil prices reflecting the turmoil in the Middle East have hit the Japanese fishing industry hard, including through surges in costs for fuel and related equipment.

¡°We used to spend about ?130 million on fuel per ship a year, but fuel prices have now jumped two to three times in South Africa, where our boats are refueled,¡± said the owner of a company based in Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture, that has six longline tuna fishing boats for operations far out at sea.

Revenue from tuna caught is almost offset by fuel costs, the company owner added.

¡°Our bonito boats sail for days to find fishing grounds, but many of them now return early as fuel is expensive,¡± said a fishing industry official in Katsuura, Chiba Prefecture.

In the city of Kagoshima, bonito fishing boats are sometimes unable to sail out due to a lack of bait. An official explained that high fuel prices are keeping purse seine fishing boats that catch Japanese anchovy, often used as bait for bonito, moored to shore.

A fisher in the city of Atami, Shizuoka Prefecture, who catches mackerel, horse mackerel, Japanese Spanish mackerel and other fish using fixed nets has also been impacted.

Prices of styrofoam containers used to ship fish hauls continue to rise, and it is becoming difficult to secure crude oil-based ship paints, the fisher said.

Distribution networks for fish are more complicated than those for other foods, making it difficult for fishing operators to pass on higher costs caused by rising fuel prices to consumers.

Industry organizations in the country have asked the government for emergency aid to help fishery operators weather the storm.