Oregon Public Broadcasting

Coastal fishermen are reviewing the Supreme Court's decision on damages for the Exxon Valdez disaster. April Baer reports that Wednesday's decision dashed hopes of thousands of fishermen who lost work because of the spill.

It's been nearly twenty years since the Valdez oil spill fouled over a thousand miles of Alaskan coast.

Jim Wells remembers it. He lives in Astoria, and fishes in Alaska's Cook Inlet.

Jim Wells: "The way the currents went, it sent it in our direction. Even though we're quite a ways away, it came across the gulf. The oil got into the tide rips. We would'a had oil in our nets, and it would'a put bad product in for the consumer. So our area was completely shut down."

Some 20,000 fishermen in Oregon and Washington lost work. Each person received a little over $15,000 apiece.

The Court's ruling says punitive damages should be no higher than compensatory damages.

Wells estimates 20 percent of the claimants involved have died while the case was being decided.