Mumbai, March 28 -- Escalation of the war in West Asia and a hike in bulk diesel prices last week have dealt a crushing blow to the fishing industry. Boat owners have reduced or stopped sending vessels into the sea as they fear running into losses due to mounting expenses on fuel. This has pushed up prices of staple fish by 20-50%, forcing families to switch to smaller and cheaper varieties or forgo fish altogether. "A medium-sized white pomfret that normally cost Rs.500 is now priced Rs.800-1000, while a black pomfret that cost Rs.300 earlier has shot up to Rs.400," said Leena Lobo, a homemaker. Since the availability of big fish had also taken a hit, the family had switched to smaller fish such as prawns for their daily intake, Lobo said. Prices at the wholesale fish market at Sassoon Dock, one of the city's oldest and largest wholesale fish markets, have already registered a 20% hike, said Mahesh Devre, Joint Commissioner of Fisheries, Marine (Mumbai). "Ribbon fish has increased from Rs.160/kilo to Rs.200/kilo, Surmai from Rs.800/kilo to Rs.1000/kilo, and squids from Rs.350/kilo to Rs.500/kilo," Devre said. Boat owners and fish traders blamed the hike in prices on the crisis in fuel supply due to the United States-Israeli war on Iran. The situation worsened significantly when the government on March 20 increased diesel prices for bulk consumers from Rs.90/litre to Rs.112/litre while leaving the retail rate unchanged at Rs.90, they said. "I stopped sending my four boats to sea after the diesel price was hiked by Rs.22/litre," said boat owner Amol Roge. Big mechanised fishing vessels needed 2,000-3,000 litres of diesel for a single 12-14 day fishing trip, while medium-sized fishing vessels needed 700-1,000 litres for a 7-8 day trip, and smaller boats needed 20-50 litres for a day's trip, said Devendra Tandel, president of the Akhil Maharashtra Machhimaar Kriti Samiti. "During normal times, the diesel rate for bulk consumers is lower than the retail rate. But, during emergencies like now, the government keeps the price of diesel low for retail customers to protect average citizens while increasing the price for bulk consumers," Tandel said, stressing on the need for relief. Though categorising the fishing sector under the retail category would be helpful now, it would pose problems once things return to normalcy, he said. "Hence, we suggest that the fishing sector be included in a third category along with other sectors like farming which will enjoy lower rates at any point in time."...