Diesel prices are so high that commercial fishermen sometimes can’t even afford to leave the dock. ‘It’s huge. It’s crazy. Thank you, Donald Trump’

John Evich, a commercial fisherman in Washington and Alaska, has voted for President Donald Trump three times, viewing him as someone who would fight for his industry.

But these days, Evich is weary of the high cost of doing business at sea, with fuel prices rising and trade hostilities with Canada jeopardizing markets for the crabs that he pulls off the ocean floor.

“If somebody came along that was going to do a better job, I would vote for them in a heartbeat,” he said.

Evich’s sentiment, echoed throughout the U.S. seafood industry, is another piece of a political puzzle that is working against Trump in the midterm elections. Dissatisfaction among commercial fishermen could cause collateral damage for Republicans in competitive races in Washington, Alaska and Maine.

“Having those costs be so much higher this year has really undermined the viability of some of our fisheries,” Alaska fisherman Linda Behnken said.

Trump sought to make an ally out of fishermen during his first term with expanded fishing territory, aggressive trade moves and cutting down regulations on the water. He did so again after his second election.

But one of Trump’s government cutback efforts, cuts to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which regulates fisheries, has left the agency slower to respond to the industry’s needs, fishermen said. Staff cutbacks also resulted in the agency reducing weather balloonsused to gather data fishermen rely on.

Fuel costs have also crept up during the war with Iran, pushing diesel fuel into the $6-per-gallon range when it was less than $4 per gallon a year ago — a major burden for a diesel-dependent industry. And the trade war with Canada has complicated........

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