The Highliner

Commercial fishing is a bedrock industry in Alaska, and has been for more than a century. Every year scores of fishermen net millions of migrating salmon, challenge the icy Bering Sea to trap king crabs, lay miles and miles of baited hooks for halibut, and scoop up enough pollock for a zillion fish sticks. And when fishermen aren't out fishing, they're usually talking about fishing. That's what this blog by Wesley Loy has been all about for the two years he has written it.

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Latest Exxon payout includes Bristol Bay

Posted by The Highliner

Posted: February 21, 2009 - 7:39 pm

Lawyers overseeing money collected from the Exxon Valdez oil spill are asking a federal judge to approve more payments to a range of commercial fishermen including Bristol Bay salmon gillnetters.

This is darned complicated, but it appears this payout involves money from something called the Alyeska Qualified Settlement Fund, as well as some punitive damages.

For more details and a guaranteed headache, read the documents I’ve linked to below.

The lawyers are asking for permission to pay out about $2.2 million to 3,770 claimants in the “unoiled fishery” category, which includes Bristol Bay and Southeast Alaska fishermen.

They’re also asking to pay nearly $156,000 to 510 claimants in several “small oiled fishery” categories: statewide oiled sablefish, Prince William Sound Dungeness crab, Prince William Sound king crab, statewide oiled miscellaneous finfish, Prince William Sound trawl shrimp, Prince William Sound pot shrimp, Cook Inlet pot shrimp, and Prince William Sound miscellaneous shellfish.

Here is lead lawyer David Oesting’s motion to distribute the money. My own reading of it suggests this isn’t the only payment coming to Bristol Bay and other unoiled fishermen.

Here’s the payout list, which includes further explanation at the top on what this distribution is all about.

The Highliner notes some interesting names on the list, to wit:

Sarah Palin, $227.88
Todd Palin, $307.35

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