By Martin Hellicar
THE AGRICULTURE Ministry yesterday tried to turn the tables on a fish farm firm charging it with wanton ineptitude.
The ministry claimed the company, Lapertas Fisheries Ltd, was the victim of its own stubborn inflexibility.
A long-running row between ministry and fish farm came to a head on Wednesday when an oil tanker arrived in Vasiliko bay, where the firm has its holding pens moored.
The tanker, the Protank Orinoco, was still in the cove yesterday, offloading crude oil for the recently completed first section of the new Vasiliko power station.
Both Lapertas Fisheries and the ministry agree the tanker poses a threat to the fish farm and its employees and that the holding pens must be moved to a new location.
In fact, relocation, in principal, was agreed to three years ago — the argument is over where the pens should go.
On Wednesday, the company complained that the authorities were leading them a merry dance, failing to deliver on their own suggestions for alternative sites while ignoring relevant proposals put forward by the firm.
The government hit back yesterday, the Agriculture Ministry issuing a statement giving its side of the story.
The two fish farms originally in the bay had been given ample warning to move, and one of them had done so with no questions asked, the ministry stated.
But Lapertas Fisheries was refusing to move, rejecting out of hand all the sites proposed by the state and adopting “stalling and non-cooperative tactics,” the ministry stated.
“The result of these tactics was that, two years ago, the Ports Authority did not renew the licence for use of the specific (Vasiliko) site, and therefore, neither the licence for the fish farm in question,” the ministry stated.
The firm claims the ministry gave up on one alternative site after fishermen objected, proposed another site that was unsuitable because of high winds and strong currents and rejected all the alternatives put forward by the company.
The ministry said it had warned the fish farm it would accept no responsibility for any damages caused by the oil tanker, but added that measures had been taken to protect the holding pens.
