Page 58 - claims information pack ebook_e

Guidelines for presenting claims in the fisheries, mariculture and fish processing sector

3.5 Sometimes the Government or local
Example authority will impose a ban on fishing
in the polluted area. You must be aware
After a major oil spill, a national government that such a ban is not automatically
imposed precautionary fisheries restrictions recognised by the 1992 Fund and that
along the coastline. The Government
contracted a scientific agency to carry out the authorities must be able to justify
samplings and tests to ascertain the level of their decision. If the Fund thinks that it is
contamination in the waters and the fishery reasonable that fishing should start again,
resources. it may pay compensation only up to that
point in time, even if there is still a ban on
Despite the sampling showing that there was fishing. Representatives of the 1992 Fund/
no further contamination in the water column shipowner’s insurer will always make the
and the fish from only a few weeks after the Fund’s position on a fishing ban clear to 9
incident, the Government only lifted the ban claimants. Do not hesitate to contact the
several months later, when it managed to get 1992 Fund on this matter.
consensus from all the local stakeholders.
3.6 It is very rare for oil spills to kill wild fish,
The 1992 Fund accepted that it was but if you think that this has happened, then
reasonable to set up a ban at the very please contact a representative of the 1992
beginning of the incident. However, it also Fund/shipowner’s insurer so that this can
considered that, based on the evidence be investigated further.
submitted by the same government, as well
as local fishermen, there was no scientific or Mariculture operators
technical justification to maintain such ban in 3.7 You must decide what action, if any, you can
place for more than two months after the spill. take to protect your business. For instance, if

As a consequence, the Fund only accepted there is oil on the surface of your fishponds
claims for losses up to two months after the or cages, it may be best to stop feeding your
spill. Any loss the fishermen may have suffered fish for a few days so that they don’t come to
after that time could not be linked to the spill the surface. You might want to use booms or
but was in fact linked to unreasonably long similar methods to stop the oil from reaching
fishing bans and therefore the Fund was not your farm. Alternatively, you may choose to
liable to pay compensation for any such loss. harvest your stock early, before oil reaches
your facility.

3.8 If you decide to destroy your stock, then
payment of compensation will depend on
many factors including:

• Was the stock contaminated?
• If it was, would the contamination have
disappeared before the normal time when
you would have harvested the stock and
would you have been able to sell it?

• Would keeping contaminated stock in your
ponds or cages have stopped you from
growing more?