Fisherman Get $3.6M Settlement From SF Bay Oil Spill
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- About 120 commercial fishermen will split $3.6 million in damages under a legal settlement over a 2007 oil spill in San Francisco Bay.
An attorney for the fishermen announced the settlement Tuesday with Hong Kong-based firms Fleet Management Ltd. and Regal Stone Ltd. Attorney Stuart Gross told the San Francisco Chronicle that a separate judgment is being requested for the attorney's fees.
The companies owned and operated the Cosco Busan, a cargo ship that struck a tower of the Bay Bridge in dense fog and spilled 53,000 gallons of fuel.
The oil killed more than 2,000 birds died and fouled 26 miles of shoreline.
Fishermen argued that it damaged surf perch, halibut and live bait fisheries.
Fleet Management was ordered to pay $10 million in criminal penalties over the spill in 2009.
