Costa fishing boats get back to work after strike over fuel prices is called off

The Costa del Sol's 250-strong fishing fleet was due to get back to work on Thursday, after three days in port in protest at the rising fuel prices.

The sector called off the strike after a meeting with the Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries, Luis Planas, giving the government a vote of confidence, even before the promised measures to support the industry had been announced.

"Help to limit the impact of the increase of the cost of diesel on the profitability of our fishing boats," is all that the ministry has revealed so far. The industry's representatives admitted that their strike had only served to fill local markets with fish from other countries, mainly Morocco, Italy and Portugal. Boats from all the local fishing ports (Caleta de Vélez, Malaga, Fuengirola, Marbella and Estepona) would return to work on Thursday they said, "fishing at a loss" although they are aware of the "need to supply basic foods".

They regretted, however, that their return to work could be affected by the hauliers' protest as delivery of the fish may not be guaranteed.

The end of the fishing strike comes at a difficult moment for the Costa's hospitality industry, since the supply problems after ten days of hauliers' protests and several days without fresh local fish had led to the closure of 10 per cent of the Malaga coastline's around 600 beach restaurants. This is just the tip of the iceberg, warned the president of the Beach Businesses Association, Manuel Villafaina.

He called for an urgent end to the conflict. "We can't wait until the 29th, as the prime minister wants, so the EU can make a decision about reducing the impact of rising energy costs. We can't go on that long. On top of everything else, the price of basic products is going up. Oil is ridiculously expensive now, and you're lucky if you can get five of the nine containers you need in a week. Fruit, vegetables, sardines, they all cost more. The businesses are starting to lose money. Next week, we will see a lot more of them closing," he added.