Some fishers reportedly excluded from compensation for Rio Cobre pollution

Concern is being expressed that only 100 fishers are set to receive compensation this week for the July fish kill in the Rio Cobre, although over 120 of them were affected.

The Friends of Rio Cobre said in a media release on Tuesday that it is urgently requesting that the Government reconcile the list and meet with fisherfolk and their legal representatives.

Kestonard Gordon, of Friends of Rio Cobre, said: “We are not sure how this list has been compiled. As far as we know community leadership or the legal representatives of fisherfolk have not been contacted. Furthermore, what happens to the other fishers who were affected, but not compensated?"

"We are concerned about those that have been excluded and that it is going to create contention in the community,” he continued.

The group noted that the toxic discharge from Windalco's effluent holding pond resulted in a major fish kill, disrupting the water supply of thousands of residents and the livelihoods of hundreds of farmers and fishers.

The government has announced it will pay $16 million in compensation to the fisherfolk.

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