19 years after Exxon spill, it's fishermen's big day

A couple of hours past midnight Tuesday, an aging band of Alaska fishermen planned to bundle up in long underwear and slickers and head out into the chill night air of Washington, D.C.

They wanted a spot on the stairs outside the U.S. Supreme Court, hoping to claim a gallery seat to hear arguments on whether America's largest oil company should pay $2.5 billion in punitive damages for the oil spilled by the tanker Exxon Valdez in March 1989.

The hearing is the highlight of an emotional reunion of several dozen Prince William Sound fishermen. Most are now in their 50s and 60s, and they've journeyed back to Washington this week as plaintiffs in the long-running class-action lawsuit against Exxon.

Some still fish in Alaska; others have docked their boats to pursue shore-side careers. All have been waiting nearly two decades to receive both sizable damage payments and what they consider justice for the disastrous spill.

"I really can't hold back the tears, to be back and seeing everyone," said Chris Nerison, 53, a former fisherman who now operates a candle factory in Spokane. "They are just such lively people, and just being with them, and hanging around, you realize how special they are.

"And that's not part of my life anymore."

These men are among the more than 32,000 fishermen, cannery workers, Alaska Natives and other plaintiffs in the class-action lawsuit.

In 1994, they were awarded $5 billion in punitive damages in U.S. District Court. In a series of appeals, that was cut to $2.5 billion. That verdict could be upheld, or done away with entirely, when the Supreme Court rules sometime later this year.

These fishermen, many from Washington state, were a fiercely competitive group that shared the beauty and bounty of the rugged, glacier-edged Prince William Sound. They netted herring in the spring and seined pink salmon in summer.

In the spring of 1989, the Exxon Valdez ran aground and gushed nearly 11 million gallons of fuel, killing more than 200,000 seabirds as well as otters, harbor seals and other marine life. It shut down the region's fishing industry.

This week, the fishermen were briefly back in the limelight, meeting with reporters Tuesday at a National Press Club luncheon, and then holding an evening candlelight vigil on the mall.

Some were staying with friends, others in hotels as they caught up with one another's lives and retold old fishing and spill-cleanup tales before the Supreme Court hearing.

If the Supreme Court should eventually rule in their favor, the punitive damages, including interest, would total $4.5 billion. Individual payouts for some Prince William Sound fishermen could top $1 million, though attorney fees and expenses would take a big bite.

"The main thing isn't about us getting rich. In 19 years, you can't be depending on this anymore," said Tom Copeland, a former Prince William Sound fisherman who now grows bamboo in Whatcom County. "This is really about just getting a bit of justice out of Exxon."

Exxon, in a press statement, called the oil spill a tragic accident that the corporation deeply regrets. But a spokesman said the corporation already has spent more than $3.5 billion in compensatory and cleanup payments and does not believe that maritime law allows for punitive damages.

Such comments reignite the anger in the 63-year-old Copeland. Back in 1989, he was so frustrated by the slow progress of the cleanup that he built his own oil skimmer made of hoses, flour scoops, five-gallon buckets and a small pump.

That was the start of the "fishermen's bounty program" that eventually corralled some 40,000 gallons of oil that Exxon purchased.

During the long weeks of the cleanup and the years of litigation that followed, Copeland emerged as an articulate voice among the fishermen, whose harvest would suffer a drastic downturn.

Herring roe, an important spring harvest for more than 100 fishermen, shut down in 1993. It's yet to reopen because of a disease that some scientists say was linked to the oil. Exxon scientists dispute any link.

Salmon harvests nose-dived in the early 1990s. The poor years, combined with low prices, forced many fishermen out of Prince William Sound. The 1993 harvest hit rock bottom, with the average seine-permit holder earning $11,322, compared with an average gross of $159,764 in 1988.

That year, Nerison quit the fishery to return to his native Minnesota to work for a funeral-home supply company. He later moved to Spokane, where he operates his candle factory.

"I had a really hard time making it in the fishery," Nerison said. "A lot of people washed out."

Robin Dexter of Bellingham stayed in.

The herring have yet to rebound enough for a harvest. But the Prince William Sound pink salmon harvests have bounced back and the Copper River harvests just outside the Sound have soared in value as they have gained an international reputation.

Dexter spends his winters as a househusband, then fishes May through September. Accustomed to rising early to fish, he was ready for an early wake-up call for his vigil outside the Supreme Court.

"I wouldn't miss this for the world," Dexter said.

Hal Bernton: 206-464-2581 or hbernton@seattletimes.com