Posted on Jun 28, 2024
Fisherman ordered to pay $646,259 for oil spill off San Juan Island
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Washington state officials are ordering a salmon fisherman to pay $646,259 in damages and penalties for spilling diesel fuel into Haro Strait as his commercial fishing boat sank off San Juan Island.
The boat, a purse seiner called the Aleutian Isle, sank while participating in a sockeye salmon fishery in August 2022. Its five-member crew escaped onto a small skiff before the Aleutian Isle rolled on its side and disappeared beneath the waves, about 15 minutes after its captain noticed water covering its main deck.
The Washington Department of Ecology estimates the sinking boat spilled about 1,400 gallons of diesel into critical habitat for the region’s endangered orcas.
The boat, a purse seiner called the Aleutian Isle, sank while participating in a sockeye salmon fishery in August 2022. Its five-member crew escaped onto a small skiff before the Aleutian Isle rolled on its side and disappeared beneath the waves, about 15 minutes after its captain noticed water covering its main deck.
The Washington Department of Ecology estimates the sinking boat spilled about 1,400 gallons of diesel into critical habitat for the region’s endangered orcas.
Fisherman ordered to pay $646,259 for oil spill off San Juan Island
Posted from kuow.org
Environment
State of Washington
Wildlife
Fishing
Hazmat
Posted 6 mo ago
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Makes sense. The Coast Guard would occasionally patrol the channels where I worked looking for oil slicks coming off docked ships and issue citations.
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel I think I read someplace once that one quart of oil can contaminate 10,000 gallons of water.
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