Fish farmers complain about compensation offered for damages caused partly by Disney

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Fish farmers complain about compensation offered for fish deaths caused partly by Disney dredging project
Mon Jul 15, 4:11 AM ET

HONG KONG - Fish farmers on Monday criticized an offer by the government to pay 5 million Hong Kong dollars (U.S. dlrs 641,000) in compensation for fish deaths partly blamed on reclamation work for Hong Kong's planned Disney theme park.

The proposed payment would not come close to covering losses, which the fish farmers estimate at 800 million Hong Kong dollars (U.S. dlrs 102.6 million), said Yeung Yun-kwong, a spokesman for the Hong Kong Fishery Alliance.

An estimated 6.6 million fish have died since the government began the dredging work in 2000, Yeung said. Silt stirred up by the dredging clogged the fishes' gills, smothering them, he said.

A recent independent report concluded that the dredging was responsible for killing at least some fish, Environment, Transport and Works Bureau spokeswoman Josephine Wong said.

Yet, Yip Sai-chor, assistant director of the government's civil engineering department, said the report also pointed out that some of the fish, such as groupers, were killed by bacterial infections not directly related to the dredging.

"Among the dead fish, only three types were found to be sensitive to suspended solids caused by dredging," Yip said. He denied to disclose the amount of compensation offered to the fishermen.

Yip said the government will take extra precautions in the second phase of reclamation, such as minimizing the dredging, conducting more frequent monitoring of water near the fish farms and installing shields to prevent silt from drifting away from the construction area.

About 160 hectares (400 acres) of an area called Penny Bay on Hong Kong's outlying Lantau Island is being reclaimed from the sea to prepare for the Disney park, which is expected to open in 2005.
 

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