On a normal week, Grandmougin is at sea from Sunday night to Saturday morning, snatching a few hours of sleep in between gruelling 18-hour shifts. He has just one night at home with his wife and three children.

But the past two weeks have been anything but normal. Grandmougin is among thousands of French fishermen who have gone on strike, blocking ports and oil depots to demand cheaper fuel.

"At this rate the only solution for us will be to start rowing," he said with a bitter chuckle. He was killing time doing maintenance work on his boss's trawler, the Jade III, which was blocking access to the port of St Malo.

A year ago, fishermen were paying between 30 and 40 euro cents (24 and 31 pence) per litre of diesel, which they can buy tax free under French rules. The price is now close to 80 cents, driven up by crude oil prices which have doubled over the past year to hit a record high of $135 per barrel on May 22.

Crude was trading near $126 on Friday.

As a result, the owner of the Jade III is spending twice as much on fuel and has that much less money left at the end of each month to share out among crew members like Grandmougin.

"I'm earning a third less than a year ago, but the work hasn't got any easier. It's the life I chose, but frankly if I have to work 18 hours a day to earn 1,000 euros a month then it's not worth it anymore," he said.

Fishermen in Spain have also protested against spiralling fuel prices. In France, truckers and farmers have launched their own protests, and European countries from Britain to Holland and Bulgaria have also been hit by trucker demonstrations.

FOOD INFLATION ADDS TO WOES

Darren Brooker, who has two trucks based in southeast England, has seen his weekly fuel bill rise by 350 pounds in eight months.

Brooker employs three people, including his wife Lisa who manages company accounts, but he says he will soon have to lay off staff unless the government steps in to help.

"We are not a bunch of whingeing truck drivers. It has got to a point where you have to make a stand," he said during a recent protest in central London, where truckers snarled traffic to press their case for lower fuel and road taxes.

Compounded by rocketing food prices, the fuel surge has caused inflation to accelerate to multi-year highs in several European countries in May and the euro zone average for the month hit an historic peak of 3.6 percent.

With consumers struggling to pay their bills, fuel-dependent businesses are loath to try to pass on the cost to customers.

"You can't just raise prices in the middle of the season, so this price increase is coming straight out of the company's earnings," said Juergen Loch, the managing director of Berlin's biggest tourist boat operator.

Loch said the annual fuel bill for the firm's 40-odd sightseeing boats will rise by at least 300,000 euros compared with the previous year if fuel stays at current prices.

"We can't expect clients to swallow one price rise after the next. People's incomes aren't rising at the same rate," he said.