broken gates costing fishers up to £2k a day
“Fishing businesses are calling for urgent repairs to the lock gates at Plymouth's Sutton Harbour.
The Plymouth Fishing & Seafood Association said fishers were losing between £1,200 to £2,000 a day because the problem reduced the time they had to fish and land catches.
Plymouth MP Luke Pollard has called on the Environment Agency to take urgent action to fix the gates and prevent further breakdowns.
The Environment Agency said repairs were a priority and work would start on Monday.
Edward Baker, CEO of Plymouth Fish and Seafood Association, said the broken gates meant access to the harbour was restricted to just one or two hours over each high tide.
"You get a short window to get in and out of the harbour which severely restricts fishing times.
"Some people are only getting to sea for a few hours. Others are coming back and they can't get into the harbour so they have to wait outside, possibly for six hours."