GALVESTON, Texas – For Galveston’s fishing community, the catch in the nets means little if there’s not enough fuel in the tank to get there. Rising fuel prices are squeezing margins for shrimpers, fishermen and seafood businesses across the island — and some warn those costs could soon be passed on to consumers.
Johnny Marullo, a veteran fisherman says the math just hasn’t been adding up lately.
“The last three weeks or so, basically, he’s been really breaking even,” Marullo said. “By the time he pays his deck hand and his fuel, he’s been breaking even the last three, four weeks — and that’s a lot of work you’re doing to break even. Personally, I haven’t been out in probably a month. I just stay tied to the dock. If I got a break even, I just stay home.”
When he does go out, his time on the water is short. On a normal day, Marullo said he’d be out from 6 a.m. to about 3 p.m. Now, he tries to be back at the dock by 11 a.m. — or sooner if he can manage it.
Captain Scott Hickman is in a similar boat. His Circle H Charters company works closely with Katie’s Seafood and splits his time between commercial snapper fishing and charter boat trips. His last fill-up cost him roughly $800 — and that was just for half a tank.
“We’re going to have to go to a fuel surcharge,” Hickman said.
Nicholas Gutierrez, general manager of Katie’s Seafood Market, says he’s been watching the situation closely and doing everything he can to hold prices steady for his customers.
“So, we haven’t seen any major changes here yet,” Gutierrez said. “We have seen fluctuations in some of the seafood that we bring in from other vendors. And our shrimpers that go locally, they’re kind of hurting right now. I haven’t raised the prices on my retail to my customers, hoping that this thing will blow over soon — but it hasn’t.”
That may not last much longer. Gutierrez says he’s likely going to have to raise prices soon, so his shrimpers can make a decent living. The potential hike? A couple of dollars — enough to be felt. Those increases would eventually hit Katie’s restaurant side as well.
In the meantime, Gutierrez has a message for his customers.
“I plead that the people don’t switch to cheaper imported seafood and try to support the American shrimpers and fishermen,” he said.
Galveston’s fishing community is hopeful that a ceasefire will help calm oil markets and bring fuel costs down. But until that happens, many are left making tough decisions — cut trips short, stay tied to the dock or brace for the cost to reach the dinner table.