'The clam industry is really important to the fishermen of Poole and worth sales over £1m so this oil could be a catastrophe.' 'But if it is still closed when the clam season starts in May, there's 45 boats and most of them have crew so you're looking at 80-90 people being affected, and then there's the merchants that buy them. Mr Russell continued: 'Normally at this time of year a few fishermen catch grey mullet and there are some hand collecting clams. Our livelihood is being threatened through no fault of our own.'įresh aerial photos of the site of the leak, near to the Wytch Farm oil field on the Arne peninsula, appear to show a lack of workmen involved in the operation.Īnglo-French oil and gas company Perenco, which owns the oil field, have been urged to put more resources into the clan up operation. 'We've been told not to gather any clams or catch any fish in the harbour while tests are done. 'Mud and water samples have been taken and tests are being done, which will hopefully take a week to a fortnight. He said: 'It has got the potential to be a total and utter disaster for fishermen but at the moment we just don't know. Mr Russell is chairman of Poole and District Fishermen's Association and a harbour commissioner, as well as operating two commercial fishing boats himself. Tom Russell, 70, who has fished in Poole Harbour since he was 17, said fishermen are concerned how the oil leak will affect their livelihoods. The worrying message comes after environmentalists questioned the apparent lack of urgency in the operation to clean up the 6,000 litres of crude oil that leaked from an underwater pipeline at 7am on Sunday. 'But at this stage, it is unclear whether there are significant losses and we're working with organisations like the Food Standards Agency to make sure that food is safe and that people will be able to continue to produce high quality shellfish from that area.' 'We will assist anyone who feels they have a legitimate case to make to follow that process through. Lord Benyon responded: 'The compensation is a very clear line of process and that is that the polluter should pay. Tory peer Baroness McIntosh of Pickering asked what compensation there might be for fishermen and tourist businesses for potential loss of income. The trade is worth over £1 million a year to the coastal community and fishermen have warned the fall out from the leak has the potential to be a 'total and utter disaster' for them. It will be replaced and we will monitor the company that is doing that, that owns this very large facility - and make sure the polluter is responsible for the damage caused.' 'The recovery operation now has sealed the pipe. 'And we want to make sure that not only are we containing this, but we're finding out what caused it and doing everything we can to make sure it doesn't happen again. 'It also has an enormous amount of human activity, not least of which is for the tourist income for the local area. He said: 'There are overlaying environmental designations, it's a very special area indeed. The worrying message comes after environmentalists questioned the apparent lack of urgency in the operation to clean up the 6,000 litres of crude oil that leaked from an underwater pipeline at 7am on Sundayĭefra minister Lord Benyon told the House of Lords that the Government will make sure the firm responsible will cough up for damages.
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