Fisherman
It was not only a broad spectrum of wildlife that was damaged by the Exxon Valdez disaster. People were adversely affected, as well. Professional fisherman whose source of income had depended on the natural well being of the sound suffered distressing economic losses. A pristine stretch of water they once treasured and enjoyed is now nothing but a slimy black waterway. Fishermen with a previously sturdy income now struggle to pay their monthly bills. This is because the disaster has not only seriously decreased the population of sea creatures but the fish that are caught have to be tested for oil contamination before they can be sold. This testing is expensive and people tend to stare clear of buying fish due to fear of poisoning. Most fishermen are turning away from the fishing industry to other jobs such as real estate agents. The year before the spill, fishing in the sound produced $80 million of revenue; it has since fallen by half. A fishing couple who bought fishing permit shortly before the spill found it almost worthless overnight. Salmon permits once worth $300,000 now fetch a mere $27,000. Herring is also a huge commercial fish in Alaska. The 1988 catch yielded twelve point three million dollars. In 1989, after the spill, herring was declared "off limits" to fishermen. However, this was compensated by a salmon catch that was six times as big as it had been in 1988. In 1990, when herring fishing resumed, it returned to normal levels. The damage to the fishing industry was not nearly as bad as had been anticipated.
Tourism Industry
Prince William Sound provided employment, income and a great environment for tourism operators. Tourist operators are also usually passionate about the environment and many have moved away as they cannot stand the condition of the water way. The tourism industry within the spill area suffered ongoing losses. The loss of wildlife has limited the recreational appeal of the spill area. Oil covered water and beaches have limited the attractive appeal of the once beautiful sound. Restrictions on sport fishing and hunting to protect injured fish, plants and animals similarly harm tourism. Tourism operators who loved their job and lifestyle have been forced to change to new occupations because there is simply no longer enough money in the tourist industry. The studies of sport fishing activity and tourism indicators e.g. vacation planning, visitor spending, and cancelled bookings all indicated decreases in recreation/tourism activity. The contingent valuation study estimated the lost passive use value at $2.8 billion. Their was a 9.8 percent decrease in sport fishing trips made in 1988 to 1989.
Residents of Cordova
Despite the facts that oil never actually licked the shores of the serene seaside town called Cordova, It is thought to be the hardest hit by diminished fishing. Before the spill Cordova was not only a seaside paradise but a secure form of income, employment and leisure. People who lived in Cordova for recreation, leisure and scenery no longer see a future in the town. Families who once walked the beaches at low tide scooping up clams and oysters for dinner now buy groceries instead. The community has suffered economic and social turmoil. Studies show domestic violence has increased 118.3% and the number of arrests increased 123.6%, the once lush population has been decreasing since the disaster. However not all is bad. On the bright side, the spill clean up has provided jobs for many unemployed citizens with a good job earning an average of $16.69 an hour, adding to a normal pay check of $1800 per week. Exxon was also in need of many small fishing boats, local fisherman charged up to $8000 for usage of their boats. This combined with hourly wages made cleaning up more profitable than fishing on a daily basis for many people.
Alaskan villages
Alaskan natives encountered many problems during the first few months of the oil spill and ensuing cleanup activities. The spill produced emotional responses, threatened subsistence activities and disrupted cultural traditions. Before the spill the villagers valued and respected the qualities of the sound. It provided food for a subsistence lifestyle, scenery and a place to live. The spill has caused disruptions of cultural traditions involving social relations sharing and transmission of knowledge and values. Villagers who once shared their food with other villages have been forced into an everyone for there own lifestyle. This has greatly affected the emotional side of the villagers. There is a sense of fear, separatism and despondency throughout villages. In one village alone there were 8 suicides in the year following the spill. Hunters must travel further and spend more time, money and effort to feed their families. Native’s subsistence behaviour was further disrupted because many natives participated in Exxon-sponsored cleanup activities and had less time to engage in seasonal subsistence activities. As a result, many villages faced serious food shortages.
Captain Hazelwood
Joseph Hazelwood was the captain of the Exxon Valdez the night she ran aground. Despite his admission that he had consumed at least three drinks before boarding the ship, Hazelwood was acquitted in 1990 of operating the tanker while drunk. He was convicted of the misdemeanour offence of illegally discharging oil, and on July 8, 1998, the Alaska Appeals Court upheld Hazelwood's sentence on that charge. The following summer the captain spent 1,000 hours picking up garbage along Anchorage-area highways. Hazelwood currently lives on Long Island, New York, and works as a maritime insurance adjustor for a company owned by his lawyer. To Captain Hazelwood and his crew the sound provided a form of employment and lifestyle. Captain Hazelwood although you make not agree, appeared to respect the environment and no doubt enjoyed the scenery whilst cruising through the sound. Since the spill not only has he suffered financially but has had a major loss of respect and reputation throughout Alaska. The captain's memory provokes only bitterness in the native village of Tatitlek, population 97, just 3 miles northeast of the reef where the tanker ran aground.
Here is a quote from a villager. "On a good, hot, sunny day, it just oozes out like a bad sore, which it is; it’s like living in a septic tank. What can live in this stuff, I ask you?”
Some of us think that humans are superior to all other living things to a point of risking killing millions of plants and animals for the sake of fuel for our luxuries. It makes me wonder; wouldn’t the world be a better place without humans, without the self-indulgence, without the lust for power…with confidence, contribution and equality in favour of all occupants of earth. The spill has helped show more people that we are a part of nature, not a part from it. In other words our mere survival on the planet is dependant on maintaining a healthy natural environment.
If we destroy nature we destroy ourselves. The native Alaskan villagers are clearly living with nature. At the top of the food chain they are very aware of the devastation a major oil spill can have on their very existence. The Managers of large corporation’s such as Exxon, operating out of offices in their urban jungle, too removed from the natural world, are perhaps less aware. They are after all less directly affected by oil spill disasters. However, in the long term, the tragedy is, I believe, that their ‘ignorance’ will catch up on all of us. Oil spills maybe best summarized by this….so long as there are ships, and humans steering them, accidents will happen, and maybe huge ones. Much is to be said on the cause and effect of the Exxon Valdez oil spill but since we cannot turn back time to correct our mistakes; we must see the brighter side of every picture and learn from our mistakes. The oil spill was an environmental nightmare that changed not only Prince William Sound, but the world. No longer will people blindly believe promises from corporations that their operations are completely safe.
