TWO RIVERS (NBC 26) — Commercial fishermen along the lakeshore are closing out a summer defined by high fuel costs, driven in part by the ongoing war in Iran. While marine fuel prices in Wisconsin have dropped from about $6 a gallon in May to about $5 now, the financial pressure on local fishing businesses has been significant.
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Paul LeClair, owner of Susie Q Fishing Co., catches and purchases fish to sell at his storefront. His boat, the Susie Q, can burn about 100 gallons of marine diesel fuel a day — a cost that became a key factor in his decision to stop fishing with the vessel until December.
"We were only catching 50 pounds of fish and it wasn't worth all the trouble, we weren't making any money," LeClair said.
Even before that decision, the fuel burden was adding up.
"It's very expensive and that boat uses a lot of fuel," LeClair said.
LeClair said he absorbed the higher costs throughout the summer but has now reached a tipping point.
"We are raising our smoked fish prices after Labor Day, just because the cost has been going up and I've been absorbing it all summer long," LeClair said.
Despite the challenges, LeClair said the business is holding on.
"We're not overly getting rich but we are paying the bills, hanging in there," LeClair said.
At Dumper Dan's, a charter fishing operation, owner Dan Welsch said fuel prices were also on his mind throughout the season.
"It's always a concern of mine, being the owner, of fuel prices," Welsch said.
Welsch said he did not see a drop in customers and chose not to pass costs along to them.
"I never added any gas extra fees or surcharges for the simple reason that people come from all over so they have to spend the money to put gas in their tank to get here," Welsch said.
Both LeClair and Welsch said they hope fuel prices remain steady, but acknowledged that fluctuating fuel costs are something their industry is accustomed to navigating.
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