Poole fishermen say they face 'catastrophe' as they are forced to stop ... trends now

 The company responsible for the oil spill in Poole Harbour will pay for the damage caused, a Defra minister has told Parliament.

Perenco, which owns the oil field at Wytch Farm in Dorset, will be responsible for paying for the consequences of a leak which saw 200 barrels of reservoir fluid - which is 15% oil - enter the harbour on Sunday.

Defra minister Lord Benyon told the House of Lords that the Government will make sure the firm responsible will cough up for damages.

Shell fishermen have warned of a 'catastrophe' for their livelihoods after they were forced to lower their nets following the Poole Harbour oil leak.

Officials have told fishermen not to harvest clams, mussels and oysters from the seabeds of the world's second biggest natural harbour for the foreseeable future.

They have given no timeframe as to when the threat of poison and contamination to crustacean fish in the harbour from the huge leak is likely to ease.

Defra minister Lord Benyon told the House of Lords that the Government will make sure the firm responsible will cough up for damages.

He said: 'There are overlaying environmental designations, it's a very special area indeed.

'It also has an enormous amount of human activity, not least of which is for the tourist income for the local area.

'And we want to make sure that not only are we containing this, but we're finding out what caused it and doing everything we can to make sure it doesn't happen again.

'The recovery operation now has sealed the pipe. It will be replaced and we will monitor the company that is doing that, that owns this very large facility - and make sure the polluter is responsible for the damage caused.'

The trade is worth over £1 million a year to the coastal community and fishermen have warned the fall out from the leak has the potential to be a 'total and utter disaster' for them.

Tory peer Baroness McIntosh of Pickering asked what compensation there might be for fishermen and tourist businesses for potential loss of income.

Lord Benyon responded: 'The compensation is a very clear line of process and that is that the polluter should pay.

'We will assist anyone who feels they have a legitimate case to make to follow that process through.

'But at this stage, it is unclear whether there are significant losses and we're working with organisations like the Food Standards Agency to make sure that food is safe and that people will be able to continue to produce high quality shellfish from that area.'

The worrying message comes after environmentalists questioned the apparent lack of urgency in the operation to clean up the 6,000 litres of crude oil that leaked from an underwater pipeline at 7am on Sunday.

Tom Russell, 70, who has fished in Poole Harbour since he was 17, said fishermen are concerned how the oil leak will affect their livelihoods.

Mr Russell is chairman of Poole and District Fishermen's Association and a harbour commissioner, as well as operating two commercial fishing boats himself.

He said: 'It has got the potential to be a total and utter disaster for fishermen but at the moment we just don't know.

'Mud and water samples have been taken and tests are being done, which will hopefully take a week to a fortnight.

'We've been told not to gather any clams or catch any fish in the harbour while tests are done.

'Obviously the fishermen are worried. Our livelihood is being threatened through no fault of our own.'

Fresh aerial photos of the site of the leak, near to the Wytch Farm oil field on the Arne peninsula, appear to show a lack of workmen involved in the operation.

Anglo-French oil and gas company Perenco, which owns the oil field, have been urged to put more resources into the clan up operation. 

Mr Russell continued: 'Normally at this time of year a few fishermen catch grey mullet and there are some hand collecting clams.

'But if it is

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