Tuna farmer's lawyers challenge evidence in Australia

Lawyers for a prominent South Australian West Coast tuna farmer have challenged the quality of evidence that connects one of his boats with a large oil spill in Boston Bay.

Dinko Lukin spent his second day at the Port Lincoln Magistrates Court, where he and his company, Lukin Tuna Farmers, are charged with the spill that covered the bay with 2,000 litres of oil in 2003.

The prosecution's case hinges largely on samples of oil taken from the spill and from two boats that were docked at the wharf that day.

It says the sample taken from Lukin's boat, the D3, matches the spill perfectly.

Lukin's lawyers yesterday cross-examined the man who took the samples, Gary Henson.

Mr Henson was forced to admit that it appears one sample bottle has gone missing, and others may have been contaminated.

The defence contended that the integrity of the sampling process was completely destroyed.

The trial in Adelaide continues.

Source: abc.net.au