BEIJING, Aug.25 (Xinhuanet) -- Q1: You met the fishermen in Hebei Tuesday. Beside legal action, how are they planning to deal with the losses?

A1: I talked to a dozen fishermen in Changli County Tuesday. They told me the county's 1,000 fishermen lost about half a billion yuan. That can be divided into two parts: profits from this years' harvest will drop because the scallops haven't grown large enough. Next year's harvest is also threatened because the reproduction process stalled. To cut spending, some fishermen have already laid off half their workers. What people are really afraid of, is this will have a negative impact on the entire community, because it relies so heavily on scallop breeding. Local governments have different attitudes toward this problem. Some county have organized hearings and even help fishermen get access to lawyers. But others refused to get involved. This in turn has led to quite a lot of uncertainty. They have become reluctant to appeal, for fear that they might go against the local government's will.

Q2: You also covered the press conference Wednesday morning, how is Conocophillips responding to the fishermen's claim they damaged the ecosystem in Bohai bay?

A2: Conocophillips gave a pretty vague answer. The president of the company, Georg Storaker said, quote, "we will consider such claims if they should come." He said an investigation group has been established to evaluate the impact on the seafood industry and the ecosystem in Bohai Bay.

In this energy thirsty county, offshore petroleum exploration sites are crammed tight, with Bohai Bay alone containing 20 oil fields. Environmental experts say Bohai bay is now under medium pollution.

Of the top 30 near shore oil exploration fields along China's coastline, more than half are jointly operated with foreign companies. Some experts say the Conocophillips incident should ring an alarm bell and further enforce its marine law and environmental protection efforts.

(Source: CNTV.cn)