Fish farmer Zhao Hongshun says he expects his stock will begin to die off any time now, when the wind direction changes.
The general manager of Qin Island Marine Fisheries in Changdao county, Shandong, Zhao runs the biggest aquaculture farm on Qin Island, the most outlying of the province's inhabited Bohai Sea islands - and the closest to last month's oil spills.
Fishermen, aquaculture farmers, scientists, seaside restaurant owners, beach resorts, government officials and environmental groups are waiting for the oil slicks caused by leaks at two offshore oil production platforms operated by ConocoPhillips to arrive at Qin and the mainland coast. They are anxious to collect evidence about their impact on local business and the environment.
US-based ConocoPhillips is facing an unprecedented coalition of compensation demands. The company is not only obliged to take full responsibility by law, but is also politically defenceless as a foreign company. Many mainlanders have taken BP's compensation fund for last year's Gulf of Mexico spill as a benchmark and are talking about billions of yuan.
The mainland's marine authorities confirmed on July 1 that there had been two spills at China's biggest offshore oilfield, Penglai 19-3, a month earlier, with the earliest one reported to the authorities on June 4. The government blamed ConocoPhillips.
ConocoPhillips said on July 1 that it had taken immediate action, under the supervision and guidance of the authorities. The sources of the pollution had been contained and clean-up work was close to completion, thanks to the 'active support' of the central government.