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[Stock Lobster]

ProJo: Fuel prices drive long-time fisherman out of business

The end of the line: Fuel prices drive long-time fisherman out of business

04:07 PM EDT on Friday, March 21, 2008

By Paul Davis
Journal Staff Writer

Joel Hovanesian says he can no longer cover his fuel costs while searching for squid or fluke, and the longtime Point Judith fisherman is not alone. “This is the most dangerous job in America and I don’t want to do it for measly pay,” he says.
The Providence Journal / Gretchen Ertl

NARRAGANSETT — Fisherman Joel Hovanesian did the unthinkable this week. He told his three-man crew to find other work.

“It’s over,” the 51-year-old captain says.

Hit hard by tightening regulations, a spotty season and soaring fuel costs, Hovanesian recently tied his boat, Excalibur, to a dock at Point Judith, the state’s most important fishing port. He says he can no longer cover his fuel costs while searching for squid or fluke.

He let his crew go after fuel prices, rising for five straight weeks, hit a three-year high on Saturday.

“I said, this doesn’t make any sense,” says Hovanesian, who met with state Department of Environmental Management Director W. Michael Sullivan this week, and who last year urged Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse to find a way to help the ailing fishing industry.

“This is the most dangerous job in America and I don’t want to do it for measly pay,” says Hovanesian, who crawled into the holds of boats to unload fish as a 13-year-old boy.

“There’s a new catchword around the bulkhead these days. It’s a three letter word: bad. You hear it everywhere. How are things going? They’re bad, people say. Bad.”

On Saturday, the price of marine diesel fuel jumped to nearly $3.65 a gallon, up from around $2 a gallon a year ago, says Chris Drew, the owner of Drew Oil Corp. in Cranston. His company delivers fuel to fishermen in Narragansett, North Kingstown, Warren and New Bedford.

“Fishermen have been complaining about the price of fuel since last October and it’s done nothing but go up since,” says Drew.

In past years, fishermen have hunkered down during the bad times. They’ve survived boat fires, oil spills and ocean storms.

When the lobster population thinned a half dozen years ago, many dipped into their retirement funds, and fished for other species.

They stuck with it because they knew it would get better. Now, some are wondering, How long can I wait?

“A lot of people are tying up their boats, waiting for better times,” says Lanny Dellinger, president of the Rhode Island Lobstermen’s Association.

Unlike some business owners, fishermen can’t pass on to the consumer an increase in operating costs, says Dellinger. Fishing is a heavily regulated industry and most fishermen can sell only to licensed fish and lobster dealers. The dealers — not the fishermen — determine the price paid at the dock.

“We can’t cut out the middle man and sell directly to the restaurants,” he says.

Lobstermen are catching as many lobsters this year as last, but they’re getting less for them, he says. “Meanwhile, the overhead has gone through the roof. The price of bait has gone up. The gas we put in our trucks has gone up. All the stuff we use, things like buoys, are made of petroleum, and the cost of those things have increased tenfold. It’s killing our industry coast wide.”

In Point Judith, Jim Thayer has tied up his boat, Luke & Sarah, next to Rhode Island Engine. He needs about $30,000 in engine repairs, he says. Often, he has other work done while his boat is idle, but not this year, he says.

Already, he’s spent $92,000 more for fuel this year compared to early last year, he says.

He can’t even afford to paint his massive black-hulled boat, a 121-foot freezer trawler. Scrapes and rust have erased part of the boat’s name. He shakes his head. “It’s never looked this bad.”

The 64-year-old Wakefield captain had hoped to retire by now, but with profits down, he has to keep fishing, he says. He’s been fishing for 40 years.

The slowdown is hurting everyone.

Barry Barrett, the owner of Point Judith Electronics, says sales have stalled. Fewer fishermen are buying equipment or making payments, which makes it hard for him to buy new stock.

“It’s a trickle down effect,” says Barrett, who relies on a two-person staff, including his bookkeeper. “There are a lot of businesses in this industry that are in extreme danger.”

Captains like Thayer are making only emergency repairs, says Jay Gallup, a third-generation owner of Rhode Island Engine.

“They aren’t making improvements, they’re only doing what’s necessary.” As a result, only about 60 percent of the company’s business is tied to the state’s fleet, he says. More fishermen are falling behind on payments, he adds.

Fuel prices dropped yesterday, but dealers aren’t making predictions. The market is volatile, they say.

Fishermen face other challenges, too, says Chris Brown, president of the Rhode Island Commercial Fishermen’s Association.

Tightening federal regulations have shortened the time they can spend at sea. And catch limits have reduced what captains and crews can take home.

As an example, the amount of yellowtail flounder fishermen can catch in a day has dropped from 750 pounds to 250 pounds, says Brown.

“I can catch that much in an hour,” he says. “But it’s a three-hour ride out and a three-hour ride back. In years gone by, we’d fish from dawn to dark. Now we’re in by noon.”

Brown says he understands the need to stop overfishing, but many species are rebounding, he says. However, the federal government can take years before it relaxes a law, he says.

Fishermen like Dellinger have another concern. If fuel prices remain high, fewer fishermen will need dock space.

Waterfront dealers and other marine-related businesses could falter or fail. That, in turn, could put pressure on companies to sell to developers, he says.

Hovanesian, meanwhile, is trying to sort it all out.

“I always prided myself on looking for fish,” he says.

“But you can’t do that now. You have to know where the fish are. If you roll the dice and lose now, you go so far backwards you can’t come back.”

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http://www.projo.com/business/content/FISHING_WOES_03-21-08_AE9E6IA_v18.3810d97.html

[Stock Lobster]

ND: More Pipes Bursting In Empty Houses

Unless reported by neighbors, mess goes unchecked

Posted: 6:46 PM Feb 25, 2008
Last Updated: 8:10 PM Feb 25, 2008
Email Address: [e-mail]

Home foreclosures that turn into neighborhood eyesores when unpaid utilities lead to broken water pipes are happening more often. Channel 6 News first reported about one such house in Bellevue. The problem has spread to Omaha.

Huge icicles don't make for a warm neighborhood welcome at 128th and Westwood Lane. "That's how we knew something was up.” That's why Susan Brandquist is concerned about the condition of an abandoned house across the street.

“I don't want a house sitting empty ‘cause it tends to leave it open for vandals to go in."

A city inspector called by Six On Your Side found records that show the mortgage in default, but whose fault is damage caused by broken pipes?

"We'll send notice to the bank and give them a short time for them to correct this,” says Omaha Chief Inspector Kevin Denker, who has photos from another abandoned house in northeast Omaha with the heat turned off, but not the water.

“When it warms up and this ice melts it's going to lead to more water damage on the inside, mold, mildew and then other issues."

Back on Westwood Lane, the garage door was unlocked so the inspector was able to go inside to document damage that violates code. There was damage in the basement, the drywall soaked.

There’s ice formed around the shut-off electrical box. MUD says the homeowner had the water turned off in January, but someone turned it back on, until neighbors complained of a flood pouring out of the windows.

“Hopefully they'll be able to get somebody in there to clean up and somebody nice will buy it, keep our neighborhood up," says Brandquist.

The mortgage company will be notified to start cleanup soon because health problems aren't frozen in time. Mold will grow fast after the spring thaw.

Our Six On Your Side investigation has turned up five vacant houses with broken pipes in Omaha and Bellevue.

If you notice one in your neighborhood, call your local inspector. The numbers are 444-5371 in Omaha and 293-3014 in Bellevue. The inspector can get an emergency shut-off order.

http://www.wowt.com/news/headlines/15956802.html