Oil spill effects are long lasting
On March 24, 1989, the Exxon Valdez oil tanker struck a reef in the Prince William Sound and poured 10.8 million gallons of crude oil into the sea. Wiping out the marine life in the area, the oil spill eventually stretched over 11,000 square miles. The world was shocked to see images of blackened seabirds, otters and seals, of bloated whale carcasses and once-pristine beaches covered with crude. But very little was said about the herring.
The Herrings were known as the little kings of the sea in these parts. They ran so thick in Prince William Sound that some days, it was said, you could walk on the water stepping on their silvery blue backs. It would seem that at the time no one understood the central place the herring was in the ecosystem nor did anyone imagine that the demise of the herring would lead to years of hardship for the people in the fishing villages.
Scientists published the most definitive study of its kind linking Exxon oil with the collapse of the herring population. Oil killed the adults, but more significantly, damaged eggs and larvae. Surviving fish developed lesions in their livers. Larvae hatched prematurely and never grew to their full 20 to 23 centimetres. They showed depressed immune systems, which made them susceptible to disease.The herring, once scooped up by the millions of tonnes, never recovered and, from indications, may never return.
Countless species, including salmon, depended on the little fish as a food source, said Richard Thorne, a fisheries scientist and co-author of the study.Cordova, population 2300 and the biggest fishing village on the Sound, is full of people living in the long-running wake of a catastrophe. Since the spill, its fishing fleet has shrunk by half, three of the town’s five canneries have gone bankrupt, countless fishermen and cannery workers have left and a former mayor has committed suicide.
When the herring vanished in 1993, Fishermen lost the only life they knew how. Boats and equipment became worthless. Mike Maxwell. a fisherman found his commercial fishing permit, valued at $US300,000 before the spill, amounted to a scrap of paper. He went into debt and eventually filed for bankruptcy. He withdrew from friends and family. He sank into a deep depression. His life fell apart, and — like the herring — he has not recovered.
If the plaintiffs in the legal saga win, Mr Maxwell’s share wouldn’t amount to a fortune. The average payout would be about $US76,500 ($A81,000) — just enough, Mr Maxwell figures, to fix his boat. “It’s not like Exxon can’t afford it. It’s only the richest corporation in the world.”
The LOS ANGELES TIMES reports that much of Cordova was speechless when Exxon Mobil announced the highest profits ever recorded by any company in a single year: $US40.6 billion in 2007.”Who’s being punished?” Mr Maxwell said. “It’s not Exxon. It’s us.”
But in June this year it has now been reported that the Supreme Court dashed their hopes Wednesday, deciding to cut the punitive damages for the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster to $507.5 million. That translates to an average of $15,000 per victim.A jury decided in 1994 that Exxon should pay $5 billion in punitive damages. In 2006, a federal appeals court cut that verdict in half.
Wednesday’s decision to reduce the amount to one equal to about four days worth of Exxon Mobil’s last quarter profits was hailed by the business community and decried by environmentalists and Alaskans.
“This turns America’s resources to the oil industry and only the U.S. Congress can do something about it,” said Jim Ayers, vice president of the advocacy group Oceana. “If the Congress doesn’t act, this means that America’s resources, including our marine life, are now in serious jeopardy and can be bought and destroyed for a mere pittance.”
Justice David Souter wrote for the court that punitive damages may not exceed what the company already paid to compensate victims for economic losses, or $507.5 million.
The 5-3 ruling, which reduced the amount owed by 80 percent, comes almost two decades after the Exxon Valdez supertanker ran aground. But importantly, the spill was about more than lost money.
It also was about the end of Alaska Native traditions and a subsistence lifestyle for several villages in the region. Because of the spill, many Alaska Natives were forced to stop harvesting seal, salmon and herring roe and move to urban areas, never to return, said Lange, who is part Aleut and Tlingit. “A cultural link was definitely broken,” she said.
The spill killed hundreds of thousands of birds and other marine animals, inflicting environmental injuries that after nearly 20 years, have not fully recovered, according to numerous scientific studies.
