Indonesian fishermen to sue over Timor oil spill

Stephanie March for The World Today
ABC News 24 Nov 09;

Hundreds of fishermen and seaweed farmers are seeking compensation from the Federal Government and a Thai operator after the Montara oil spill in the Timor Sea.

At least 500 million litres of oil from the Montara oil field spilled into the Timor Sea over 10 weeks from August this year, and more reports have emerged of decimated fish stocks.

Fishermen and seaweed farmers say the spill has cost them their only source of income and they are preparing a compensation claim against both the Government and the Thai operators of the rig.

While the Government maintains there is no evidence of damage to Indonesia's marine areas, the Indonesian Government has set up a team to calculate the losses incurred from the oil spill.

Reports of dead fish floating in waters off Kupang in Indonesia's east started to emerge in September, and environmental researcher David Jones spent the past six weeks taking water samples and speaking to fishermen in the area.

"They found dead fish in the area and as they started fishing they discovered their fish catch was off by 70 per cent or more," he said.

"So every time they went fishing, they were unable to produce any economic benefit and, in fact, they lost money every trip and so they eventually had to stop fishing."

Bob La Macchia manages one of the largest trawling operations in the area and is seeking compensation for lost income caused by the spill.

He says the claim from his company alone reaches into the millions.

"More than a million. I'm looking at 2-3 million," he said.

"It's got to be at least seven years, at least seven before we start seeing any product off these grounds."

Daily assessments

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority says it has been conducting daily fly-over assessments of the area since the leak started in August.

It maintains the type and amount of oil observed in Indonesian waters poses no significant threat to the marine environment.

But Mr Jones says the dispersant used by Australian authorities pushed the oil from the surface down onto the reef.

"Some of these guys, they fish and sometimes they dive down at night and they use a small spear gun and they shoot a few fish," he said.

"So ... it's only 15 metres deep, so they could see it on the reef even if it wasn't on the surface."

Moral obligation

Chairman of the West Timor Care Foundation, Ferdi Tanoni, is coordinating the compensation claim on behalf of the Kupang fishermen, and says the Australian Government has a moral obligation to help the fishermen.

"I can recall back in the Second World War, thousands and thousands of West Timorese and East Timorese got killed just to help with the Australian Army," he said.

Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said in a statement it would act consistently with international law, but that it was not aware of any basis for a compensation claim.

A Federal Government inquiry into the disaster will hand down its findings in April.

But Mr Jones says that may be too late for the Indonesian fishermen.

"They fish until Christmas time and the first part of January, and then they have to make enough money to survive through the wet season," he said.

"And this year they are not going to have any way to survive because their boats are only designed for fishing in that area."