Saving Seafood

Fishing boats worldwide stuck dockside as diesel prices surge on Iran war

May 21, 2026 — Captain Chris Welch of Kennebunk, Maine, is catching fewer lobsters this spring because spiking diesel prices have made it too costly to take out his fishing boat as often as he normally would.

Instead of checking and re-baiting his traps every four or five days to collect the valuable crustaceans, he’s doing ​so every seven to 10 days to conserve fuel.
“It cuts into your profitability at the end of the day,” Welch said after fueling his vessel, Quality Time, on a ‌rainy day at Kennebunk’s harbor. “We are having to pay much more attention to our bottom line.”

Rising fuel costs ripple through Northwest’s fishing industry

May 15, 2026 — On a sunny morning in Garibaldi, Oregon, Jesse Coon offloads his catch. Men in waterproof fishing bibs pack salmon into ice and hose out the boat, named Steel Fin.

Standing next to stacked coolers of freshly caught fish, Coon pulls out one of the Chinook salmon his crew just caught and explains how it senses bait in the water.

“If you look at it really close, there’s actually pores — holes right there — and that’s their nervous system. And they can sense electricity that’s put off by bait fish, and every living creature,” he said.

But to find salmon, Coon has to travel miles offshore, searching for dense shoals and burning lots of fuel. Oregon’s commercial troll salmon season opened April 14, but the biggest catches typically arrive later in the summer. It’s still early in the season, and it’s hard to know how good the fishing will be.

Since the war in Iran began in late February, another factor is compounding that risk. Diesel costs have surged, cutting thousands of dollars from already thin margins.

“ It just makes your decision-making harder on when to go and when not to go, and whether to go a little early in the season when the fishing might not be quite as good. It just really feels like a gamble,” he said.

Read the full article at OPB

 

Rising diesel prices force shrimp boats to stay docked

May 4, 2026 — Shrimp boats are sitting at the dock as rising diesel fuel prices force local seafood businesses to cut back on trips to sea.

The average price for diesel fuel in North Carolina is now more than $5.50 per gallon, according to AAA. That’s a $1.50 more than the price this time last year.

Bob Taylor, who has spent 22 years in the seafood business, said the increase is affecting daily operations at Calabash’s Waterfront Seafood Shack.

“Fuel is liquid gold right now. We want it to go back to liquid silver,” Taylor said.

Read the full article at WECT

Fishermen weigh fuel costs against the catch

May 1, 2026 — While marine diesel is often dyed red, many fishermen are singing the diesel blues as prices have topped $5.00 per gallon in many states. “Last week we were in the mid $4.00 range,” says Dan Eilertsen, who owns a fleet of scallop draggers fishing out of New Bedford, Massachusetts. “But our high was $5.30 a month ago. I heard the price was going down this week.”

For now, Eilertsen is letting the skippers of his vessels decide how to manage the rising cost of fishing. “Fortunately, catches are up, and scallop prices are ok, so the bottom line works even with higher fuel costs,” he says. “My captains are doing the math. Is it better to tow less and save fuel by loading up on smaller scallops that are lower price, which allows them to lay and cut? Or do they tow continuously for larger, more expensive scallops but pay more for fuel?”

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

New York lawmaker pushes upfront fuel tax break for fishing fleet

April 8, 2026 — A New York lawmaker is pushing to ease the burden of rising fuel costs on commercial fishermen, introducing legislation that would allow fishing vessel operators to access fuel tax exemptions upfront rather than waiting months for reimbursement.

According to Spectrum Local News, New York State Assemblyman Tommy John Schiavoni introduced the bill on April 6, citing increasing diesel prices tied to the war in Iran and the growing financial strain on the state’s commercial fleet. The proposal aims to bring commercial fishermen in line with the agricultural sector, which already benefits from more immediate fuel tax relief.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman