Decision ID: 001171
In October 2000 the 1992 Fund Executive Committee considered a claim by a fish trader in Spain who imported goose barnacles from a supplier in Brittany and sold them to restaurants, hotels and markets in Bilbao. It was noted that the claimant had stated that he was deprived of his supply due to the incident and that the sales of produce from Brittany represented some 80% of his turnover. The Committee agreed that the claimant appeared to be economically dependent to a high degree on the produce from the area affected by the oil spill, but took the view that, since the claimant’s business was located some 800 km from the affected area, there was no geographic proximity between the activity and the contamination and that the business could not be considered as forming an integral part of the economic activity within the area affected by the spill. For these reasons the Committee considered that there was not a reasonable degree of proximity between the contamination and the alleged losses and that the claim should be rejected.