THE HAGUE, March 27. /TASS/. At least a half of the Dutch fishing fleet stays idle this week amid the sharp growth of diesel fuel prices caused by the conflict in the Middle East, Reuters reports, citing industry representatives.

"Now the fuel bill is equal to the revenue, so it simply does not work," said Durk van Tuinen, a spokesperson for the Dutch Fishers Union, cited by Reuters. The fishing sector of the country experience such difficulties because of a large share of beam trawlers, making up to about 7% of the total EU fishing fleet and consuming much fuel.

From 80% to 90% of such trawlers did not sail out this week, industry group VisNed said. While weekly fuel spending was about 12,000-13,000 euro before the start of US and Israeli strikes against Iran, now costs are up to 30,000 euro, almost equal to potential earnings from the catch.

Other European countries also experience similar difficulties, the news agency said. Spain, Italy and Frace introduced limited measures of industry support against such background, Reuters said.