BRIXHAM fishermen are angry after being slapped with a 13.5 per cent rise in mooring fees.

The men, who fish alone in small boats which they keep on swing moorings in the outer harbour, say they received no warning of the increased rents and were not consulted about the changes.

The new charges were sanctioned by Torbay Harbour Authority Board, led by Bay councillor Robert Horne (pictured right).

Twenty fishermen have signed a letter, penned by Graham Wright, to Cllr Horne asking him to reconsider the increase.

Cllr Horne refused to discuss the reason behind the steep rise, saying only: "I would be very happy to meet Graham or any of his representatives to discuss the comments of his letter fully."

Graham, 60, who has been fishing all his life, has to pay £660 for his mooring this year, an increase of £180.

He said: "All we got was the bill, nothing telling us why the rent has gone up so much. It's an awful lot of money from one year to the next.

"Word of mouth is it is to bring us in line with Torquay, but they've got pontoons with electricity points and water, which we don't have, and our harbour isn't even protected from the weather. We are on swing moorings and well over 20 boats broke their moorings and went adrift this winter including mine.

"We have to pay a percentage of our catch in landing dues as well and we are all struggling to make a living in the recession. It must cost us £500 a year to get to our mooring in our tenders.

"We don't mind paying for the mooring, I like my boat where it is, but this is an extortionate amount."

Fisherman Ron Pillar also put his name to the letter to Cllr Horne.

He said: "I'm disgusted. It's a massive rise for us. Being single-handed the mooring is very handy because it's out of the way and you can just pick up the mooring and go. It's a nice asset to have, but the rise is diabolical.

"Times are hard enough and my rent has gone up by £160 just like that.

"It's been creeping up for a while, which is fair enough, but this rise is crazy. It's not easy when you're by yourself. You can only do so much, but what can you do?

"You've got to keep up with the payments. I'll just struggle on a little while longer but I need a little bit of help."

Lifelong fisherman Chris Lidstone, 51, who has been fishing alone for the past three years in his 10-metre boat Eloise, described the rise as 'another nail in the coffin'.

"We are being penalised for trying to look after our boats by sticking them on the swing moorings out of the way," he said. I've had the boat for three years and my bill for the first year was £270. This year it's £413.

"I find everything a struggle, we've had a fuel crisis, we're in a recession and now this. I will have to struggle on. I can't sell my boat because nobody wants to buy a the moment.

"You try to get on and do something for yourself, but the running costs are astronomical and we're not getting a very good return on fish prices.

"Everyone's trying, it's a hard enough industry as it is, but I don't seem to be getting anywhere.

"Small boats are restricted by the weather and if there's a really strong wind you don't go out.

"It's just another nail in the coffin. I will struggle on and keep going, I've got no choice."