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Nov 16, 2007 10:22 am US/Pacific
Crabber Suing For More Than $100M Over Bay Spill
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS/KCBS/AP/BCN) ―
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Crab salesman Anthony Geraldi looks over his crabs from Washington State at Fisherman's Wharf.
AP
An Oregon crab boat operator who traveled to the Bay area for crab season has filed a federal civil lawsuit in San Francisco seeking compensation for losses related to the oil spill and fishing.
To report oil sightings call (415) 398-9617
To report oiled wildlife call (415) 701-2311
To submit a claim for oiled property call 888-850-8486
The complaint, which seeks class-action status, names ship owner Regal Stone, Hanjin Shipping and the China Ocean Shipping Company as defendants.
Attorney William Audet filed the suit in federal district court Thursday on behalf of Newport, Oregon-based Chelsea LLC. He estimates the oil spill has cost Bay area fishermen more than $100 million in losses and predicts that similar lawsuits will be filed.
Regal Stone spokesman Michael Stone says the company had not seen the lawsuit and couldn't comment on it.
Crab pots are allowed to be dropped only beyond the "red zone," three miles off the coastline.
At a state Assembly hearing in Emeryville Thursday, some criticized the decision by Governor Schwarzenegger and the state Department of Fish and Game to open the crab season outside the Golden Gate as an error. "I think he would be man enough to admit a mistake, fix it and we can go on from there, if not there could be an injunction," warned Zeke Grader, executive director of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Association. Grader is calling for the complete closure of the crab season, because oil has been reported well outside the "no fish" zone. "We had unanimity among fishermen and a lot of the processes, saying close it."
Governor Schwarzenegger is launching a state investigation into last week's ship collision and oil spill into San Francisco Bay. The governor is asking the Department of Fish and Game, Office of Spill Prevention and Response and Office of Emergency Services to aggressively investigate the spill's causes and the response.
The investigation will focus on notification, environmental damage and cleanup as well as civil and criminal liability.
The governor says the state will be working with Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer to investigate and find ways to prevent similar accidents.
Schwarzenegger also is asking state lawmakers to study possible policy changes to prevent future spills.
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