The Kungliao Fishermen's Association (貢寮漁會) yesterday reaffirmed their refusal to accept the NT$215.6 million offered for losses incurred by construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant, saying they would instead seek an amount almost five-times as large.
The Taiwan Power Company (台電) in March last year offered the fishermen compensation for cancellation of their right to fish in 4.4km2 of water around the harbor, breakwater and waste water outlets being built for the power plant and damage to fishing grounds.
The association refused on the grounds that accepting the money would be like acquiescing to the plant's construction, which the entire township has opposed.
At a meeting yesterday association members agreed to maintain their refusal of the NT$215.6 million, but instead seek a more "reasonable" amount for lost income due to revocation of fishing rights and damage to fishing areas from polluting waste produced by construction.
According to association head Lai Chao-nan (
This sentiment was common among participants at the meeting where the general feeling was that the sum offered by Taipower simply wasn't enough to cover financial losses due to construction of the plant.
If Taipower were to grant the association NT$1 billion, each of the members would receive NT$161,290, compared to the NT$34,677 each would receive from the current payout.
"If we took the NT$215 million from Taipower it would be like us supporting the plant and trading our fishing rights in exchange for this amount of cash," said Lin Jie-chun (林界春), secretary of the association.
Instead, the association continues to oppose the plant and will seek not only fair compensation for losses from construction, but now that the plant has been axed, it will also seek the return of permits to fish in the currently prohibited waters, said Lin.
"No new compensation has officially been determined, and the association will seek a re-evaluation of losses by an independent third party before finalizing its request to Taipower," said Lin.
But Taipower fended off claims for more compensation, saying that the original figure had been determined through a lengthy evaluation process and the association would have to provide solid proof of significantly higher losses than previously expected if a larger sum was to be offered.
If the plant is officially cancelled, Taipower will apply to reclaim the NT$215 million and settle any further compensation after conducting a fresh assessment of losses to fishermen incurred since March last year, said a Taipower executive.
The Council of Agriculture (農委會), which oversees the nation's fishing industry, played down the claims of high losses from the fishermen, saying that the prohibited 4.4km2 area was a "tiny fraction of the total area" in which Kungliao fishermen can trawl.
Enquiries by the association in October to determine the state of the money -- held by the Keelung District Court since being paid out in March last year -- stirred speculation the fishermen were casting off their previous refusal.
Construction of the nuclear plant was axed by the government in October, but in the face of strong opposition from the KMT-dominated legislature, the final decision was handed to the Council of Grand Justices who will rule on whether the action was unconstitutional.
RSS