# Two Lawsuits, One Industry: Crab Fishermen Take on Big Oil

An episode of [Drilled](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1439735906), 29 Apr 2019, 20 min.

Audio: https://podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/tracking.swap.fm/track/SxlTEPDY7xDg35RXkASs/pdrl.fm/3e5572/traffic.omny.fm/d/clips/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/9a7ab5ee-ce11-48ff-a544-b3ec00ea9b1e/bf8c93c3-8b77-4e86-9115-b3ec00f4df69/audio.mp3?utm_source=Podcast&in_playlist=7f82f371-6316-4ea6-a108-b3ec00ea9b2d

Facing repeated closures due to climate change, crabbers learn new information that spurs them to take action and become the first industry to sue Big Oil. Support us: https://www.patreon.com/Drilled See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

## Transcript

[0:00] Speaker 1: This is part three of a six part series. If
[0:03] Speaker 1: you missed the first two episodes, go back and listen
[0:06] Speaker 1: so you'll be caught up on the story up to now.
[0:08] Speaker 1: In today's episode, we're going to look at how this
[0:11] Speaker 1: group of people became the first industry to sue Big Oil.
[0:31] Speaker 1: Previously on Drilled.
[0:32] Speaker 2: It was just awful. I mean, we couldn't pay the bills.
[0:36] Speaker 3: It was just a nightmare.
[0:37] Speaker 4: We almost lost that quest.
[0:38] Speaker 5: It was pretty impressive Christmas a kind of like, you
[0:41] Speaker 5: know what this is getting serious? You know, we're thinking, oh,
[0:44] Speaker 5: we'll be open by December.
[0:45] Speaker 3: First, the French Step from Firehouse Subs is here for
[1:00] Speaker 3: a limited time. Piled high with premium roast beef, caramelized onions,
[1:05] Speaker 3: and melty cheese on a freshly toasted garlic butter roll.
[1:09] Speaker 3: Every French Dip is served with warm savory ajou for dipping.
[1:13] Speaker 3: This melti French Dip is only at Firehouse Subs for
[1:16] Speaker 3: a limited time, so head to your nearest Firehouse Subs
[1:18] Speaker 3: or order on the app and try the French Dip
[1:21] Speaker 3: before it's gone limited time at participating Firehouse Subs restaurants
[1:24] Speaker 3: while supplies last.
[1:27] Speaker 4: We have to do something and that's something to date
[1:30] Speaker 4: has been closing and waiting multiple years for federal disaster
[1:34] Speaker 4: assistance that may not even be delivered.
[1:37] Speaker 1: That's Noah Oppenheim, executive director of PCFFA, the West Coast
[1:42] Speaker 1: Fishermen's Trade Group. When crabbers finally started their twenty fifteen
[1:47] Speaker 1: season after a lengthy delay, they were desperate to make
[1:50] Speaker 1: up for lost time. Then word got out that crabs
[1:53] Speaker 1: were congregating off the central Coast near Moro Bay and Monterey,
[1:57] Speaker 1: so crappers flocked to the area, eagles to a beach picnic.
[2:01] Speaker 2: I crabbed out a half move bay for a month,
[2:04] Speaker 2: and then we picked everything up and trucked dollar geared
[2:07] Speaker 2: down to Moral Bay and there were some crabs down there,
[2:10] Speaker 2: and we spent the rest of the season there.
[2:12] Speaker 1: Ben Platt wasn't the only one to make a mad
[2:15] Speaker 1: dash for the Central coast. The Dungeness crab fishery is
[2:18] Speaker 1: what they call a derby fishery, so if a boat
[2:21] Speaker 1: wants to travel and fish in a different district, it can,
[2:24] Speaker 1: But that meant that a lot more crab pots, those
[2:27] Speaker 1: large round cages that krabbers trapped crab in were in
[2:30] Speaker 1: these small bays along with crab boats and the crab
[2:34] Speaker 1: booys that crab pots are attached to, so add more
[2:37] Speaker 1: buoys and rope to these crowded bays. It was also
[2:41] Speaker 1: later in the year than usual, which meant that crabbers
[2:44] Speaker 1: were about to collide with whale migration season. And at
[2:47] Speaker 1: the same time, the warm water hadn't just impacted the
[2:50] Speaker 1: algae and the crabs, it had shifted the entire marine
[2:54] Speaker 1: food web. That's exactly what scientists in nineteen sixty eight
[2:58] Speaker 1: had predicted what happen if emissions and unchecked in a
[3:01] Speaker 1: report commissioned by the American Patroleum Institute, which counted every
[3:05] Speaker 1: US oil company as a member at the time, Stanford
[3:08] Speaker 1: University scientists wrote, quote, changes in ocean temperatures would change
[3:13] Speaker 1: the distribution of fish and cause a retreat in the
[3:16] Speaker 1: polar sea ice. That's happening now, and it's leading to
[3:20] Speaker 1: a cascade of issues that are depleting the world's fish stocks.
[3:23] Speaker 1: As rising temperatures kill off plankton, the fish that survive
[3:27] Speaker 1: on them are decreasing in numbers, as are the fish
[3:30] Speaker 1: that feed on those fish, and so on and so on.
[3:34] Speaker 1: In this episode, we're going to look at how all
[3:36] Speaker 1: of that has landed Krabbers in the middle of not
[3:38] Speaker 1: one but two lawsuits, a whale entanglement suit filed against
[3:43] Speaker 1: them and a liability suit they've filed against the thirty
[3:46] Speaker 1: largest fossil fuel companies. Both suits are ultimately about climate
[3:50] Speaker 1: change and the way it's changing marine ecosystems, and together
[3:54] Speaker 1: they provide a really good example of why everyone should
[3:57] Speaker 1: be paying attention to what's happening in the oceans. This
[4:01] Speaker 1: is the story of two industries, one fighting to survive,
[4:05] Speaker 1: the other the most powerful in human history. The outcome
[4:09] Speaker 1: of their battle could very well determine whether and how
[4:12] Speaker 1: we act on climate change. I'm Amy Westervelt and this
[4:16] Speaker 1: is drilled season two hot water.
[4:22] Speaker 6: We had these unheard of changes and ocean conditions. We
[4:26] Speaker 6: had the so called warm water Blob, and the ocean
[4:29] Speaker 6: temperatures really increased, and then that caused reaction. So the
[4:33] Speaker 6: really small fish called krill moved and their abundance changed,
[4:39] Speaker 6: and that's what the whales eat. So the whales chased
[4:43] Speaker 6: that food and they came closer to the shore, which
[4:46] Speaker 6: brought them into contact with our traditional fishing grounds. And
[4:51] Speaker 6: if you'll remember, at that time of year, the crab
[4:54] Speaker 6: fishing started late because we had this high bloom of
[4:58] Speaker 6: algae and democh so it was like a confluence of
[5:02] Speaker 6: all the worst things real climate change impacts, whales moving
[5:07] Speaker 6: closer to shore, crab gear being placed later because of
[5:11] Speaker 6: demolic acid, and we just saw this huge uptick in entanglements.
[5:15] Speaker 1: That's Chuck Bonham, California Fish and Wildlife Director. Krill are
[5:19] Speaker 1: the preferred food of migrating whales along the coast, and
[5:23] Speaker 1: on top of there being less of them, those that
[5:25] Speaker 1: remained had moved closer to shore. That led to a
[5:28] Speaker 1: major spike in whales getting entangled in crab gear. That
[5:32] Speaker 1: spike and entanglements trew the attention of environmental groups well.
[5:36] Speaker 7: It with warm water and no krill and high concentrations
[5:41] Speaker 7: of grab gear, it was the perfect storm.
[5:45] Speaker 1: Dick Ogg captain's a boat out of Bodega Bay and
[5:48] Speaker 1: has been very involved in the Dungeness Crab Gear Working
[5:51] Speaker 1: Group that formed shortly after that feeful year. Dick is
[5:54] Speaker 1: a really interesting guy. He's been a vegetarian for forty years,
[5:58] Speaker 1: he's been fishing for about two twenty years, and he
[6:01] Speaker 1: doesn't eat during the day for a reason. He never
[6:03] Speaker 1: gave me and he seemed as sort of a leader
[6:06] Speaker 1: in the crabbing community, something of a spiritual guide. So
[6:10] Speaker 1: and Dick told me his theory on what was going
[6:12] Speaker 1: on with whales that year. I knew to pay attention.
[6:14] Speaker 7: There seemed to be a lot of crabs down the
[6:17] Speaker 7: Monterey Bay area, so the majority of the fishermen went
[6:21] Speaker 7: south and concentrated gear in an area they're off of Monterey.
[6:26] Speaker 7: So not only was there the migration of the humpbacks occurring,
[6:32] Speaker 7: but there was also a situation where their food source
[6:37] Speaker 7: was right in the middle of where all the crab
[6:40] Speaker 7: year was. And in addition to that, the product that
[6:44] Speaker 7: the whales were after, the anchovies, were very very high
[6:48] Speaker 7: in the moment acid, So the whales were eating tainted food.
[6:53] Speaker 7: So whether that affected their reactions and how they responded,
[6:57] Speaker 7: you don't know.
[6:58] Speaker 1: That theory hasn't been tested yet, but a number of
[7:01] Speaker 1: other folks told me similar things and attracts with what
[7:04] Speaker 1: marine biologists have observed in marine mammals since warm waters
[7:08] Speaker 1: started triggering these toxic algal blooms. On top of the
[7:11] Speaker 1: fact that warmer waters are upsetting the food chain, causing seals,
[7:15] Speaker 1: sea lions, and whales to starve to death. The demoic acid,
[7:19] Speaker 1: triggered by the algal blooms is messing with these animals' heads.
[7:23] Speaker 8: This sea lion is having seizures poisoned from demoic acid,
[7:28] Speaker 8: a deadly natural toxin being found in very high levels
[7:31] Speaker 8: from California to Washington State.
[7:34] Speaker 1: So it's really not so far fetched to think that
[7:36] Speaker 1: demoic acid rich anchovies made whales more likely to get
[7:40] Speaker 1: tangled up in ropes that year. On top of everything
[7:43] Speaker 1: else that was going on, this week, Drilled partnered with
[7:50] Speaker 1: a fun and fascinating quick hits science podcast called Everyday Einstein.
[7:55] Speaker 1: It's hosted by astrophysicist doctor Sabrinas Steerwalt, who explains complicated
[8:00] Speaker 1: scientific concepts in quick eight to ten minute episodes that
[8:03] Speaker 1: make the complex accessible. She answers questions like how can
[8:06] Speaker 1: you tell if your tapwater is safe to drink, and
[8:08] Speaker 1: clears up common areas of confusion like weather wormholes really exist.
[8:13] Speaker 1: And just like the Drilled team, doctor Steerwell is committed
[8:15] Speaker 1: to debunking misinformation about the scientific concepts shaping our world.
[8:20] Speaker 1: She's done episodes on everything from why vaccines bolster herd
[8:24] Speaker 1: immunity to how we know climate change is linked to
[8:26] Speaker 1: more intense extreme weather events. It's a great show and
[8:29] Speaker 1: you're bound to learn something new, including tips on how
[8:32] Speaker 1: to explain this stuff to other people. Find Everyday Einstein
[8:35] Speaker 1: on Apple Podcasts, Potify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Okay,
[8:39] Speaker 1: back to the show. The working group wasn't just sitting
[8:45] Speaker 1: around and talking about stoned whales, though it also proposed
[8:49] Speaker 1: some restrictions around fishing when whales were present, but ultimately
[8:52] Speaker 1: those proposals weren't enough. The Center for Biological Diversity, and
[8:56] Speaker 1: Arizona based nonprofit focused on endangered species, sued the California
[9:01] Speaker 1: Department of Fish and Wildlife, threatening a shutdown of the
[9:04] Speaker 1: fishery entirely.
[9:05] Speaker 9: We were a part of that working group for a
[9:08] Speaker 9: couple of years and were very frustrated at the lack
[9:13] Speaker 9: of meaningful changes on the water.
[9:16] Speaker 1: That's Kristin Monsel, she's the lead attorney on this case
[9:19] Speaker 1: for the Center for Biological Diversity.
[9:21] Speaker 9: The working group largely was talking about voluntary measures, which
[9:27] Speaker 9: we know simply don't work, and it was just a
[9:30] Speaker 9: lot of talk and there was no actions that met
[9:35] Speaker 9: the words.
[9:36] Speaker 1: It's the sort of thing that we'll get fishermen talking
[9:38] Speaker 1: about how much they hate environmental groups. In a lot
[9:42] Speaker 1: of ways, Krabbers are a skeptical of big Green as
[9:46] Speaker 1: they are of big oil. Lorie French has a lot
[9:49] Speaker 1: to say on this subject.
[9:51] Speaker 5: They always have to have some crisis that they're collecting
[9:53] Speaker 5: for the whales or the band of snails or a
[9:56] Speaker 5: three between pigeon. There's always some crisis that they're for
[10:00] Speaker 5: in the name of save the environment, and it seems
[10:04] Speaker 5: that they never really saw the crisis is, but they're
[10:06] Speaker 5: always willing to put people out of business.
[10:09] Speaker 1: And Ben is also distrustful of the intentions of environmental groups.
[10:13] Speaker 2: My opinion is that some of these NGOs are just
[10:16] Speaker 2: self perpetuating organizations.
[10:18] Speaker 1: And Ben has seen representatives from environmental groups storm out
[10:22] Speaker 1: of negotiations and become increasingly involved in fisheries management in
[10:26] Speaker 1: a way that just doesn't sit well with him.
[10:28] Speaker 2: In my opinion. What they're doing, in essence is so
[10:32] Speaker 2: arrogant because they're coming in and saying, we don't trust
[10:35] Speaker 2: the process. So they're telling people that have spent their
[10:38] Speaker 2: life's work is in fisheries biology and in fisheries management,
[10:42] Speaker 2: and in fishing and in processing, we know better than you.
[10:46] Speaker 2: We have to save the process because you guys are
[10:49] Speaker 2: screwing it all up.
[10:50] Speaker 1: Every Krabber I spoke with said similar things about environmental groups.
[10:54] Speaker 1: They don't respect all sides. They're using whales for fundraising.
[10:58] Speaker 1: They're all bloated and is looking for causes to keep
[11:01] Speaker 1: themselves going, Which is amazing because half the time, probably
[11:05] Speaker 1: more than half, they're on the same side.
[11:07] Speaker 2: When we're talking about salmon water, we're usually on the
[11:11] Speaker 2: same page. But as soon as we go out on
[11:13] Speaker 2: the ocean, I mean, it's kind of like we're all
[11:15] Speaker 2: fair weather friends. As soon as we go out on
[11:18] Speaker 2: the ocean and start trying to make a living, then
[11:20] Speaker 2: sometimes we're at odds with this recreational fleet. Sometimes oftentimes
[11:25] Speaker 2: we're at odds with some of the environmental groups. I mean,
[11:27] Speaker 2: we all love whales, we all love se otters, we
[11:29] Speaker 2: all love you know, up in Alaska, the orcas are
[11:33] Speaker 2: major pests to the longliners. They steal a lot of fish.
[11:35] Speaker 2: But you know, we deal with it, and sometimes it's
[11:38] Speaker 2: really irritating, but we understand that we share the ocean
[11:41] Speaker 2: with these marine mammals.
[11:43] Speaker 1: It's also funny because a lot of people would probably
[11:46] Speaker 1: see suing the oil companies over climate change as a
[11:49] Speaker 1: pretty radical environmentalist move, but both Lori and Ben reject
[11:53] Speaker 1: that identity. Crabbs are very into preserving resources and the
[11:58] Speaker 1: crab fishery is one of the most sustainable in the country.
[12:01] Speaker 1: They toss females and small males back, which ensures that
[12:04] Speaker 1: the crab are self sustaining, and they've historically agreed on
[12:07] Speaker 1: various self imposed regulations that ensure the fishery can continue.
[12:11] Speaker 1: So it is an unhappy coincidence that this would be
[12:14] Speaker 1: the first fishery shut down by warming oceans, not by
[12:18] Speaker 1: overfishing or stock depletion, and it wasn't a one off.
[12:22] Speaker 1: Noah Oppenheim, the head of the Fishermen's Trade Association, says
[12:25] Speaker 1: demoic acid closures are the new normal.
[12:28] Speaker 4: We are going to be looking at demoic acid as
[12:31] Speaker 4: neurotoxin that accumulates in the tissues of crabs and other
[12:36] Speaker 4: shellfish species impacts driven by climate change every single season
[12:41] Speaker 4: in perpetuity. It's disruptive, it's damaging, it destroys communities, and
[12:48] Speaker 4: we do not have appropriate mechanisms to support fishermen when
[12:54] Speaker 4: these events occur.
[12:55] Speaker 1: In the aftermath of that twenty fifteen season, the California
[12:59] Speaker 1: Fish and Wildlife Department successfully secured a disaster relief package
[13:03] Speaker 1: from the federal government totally two hundred million dollars for
[13:06] Speaker 1: California fishermen. The package covers issues across several fisheries, and
[13:10] Speaker 1: crab fishermen are expected to get fifteen million dollars of that,
[13:14] Speaker 1: but the funds have not been allocated yet, and money
[13:17] Speaker 1: has never materialized, and a lot of folks have given
[13:20] Speaker 1: up on it ever appearing.
[13:22] Speaker 5: I know there's a lot of guys that are worried
[13:23] Speaker 5: about this with disaster funding that we're still supposed to get,
[13:25] Speaker 5: and you know, this sasion, there's people who could use it.
[13:28] Speaker 1: Meanwhile, like Noah said, the closures have continued, and just
[13:35] Speaker 1: as Krabber's were experiencing that terrible first year, reporters uncovered
[13:40] Speaker 1: something new about climate change.
[13:43] Speaker 10: First a new tack and the battle over climate change.
[13:46] Speaker 10: Going after energy companies for alleged financial fraud. Exxon's history
[13:51] Speaker 10: has been the subject of recent reporting by Inside Climate News,
[13:55] Speaker 10: the Los Angeles Times, and others. The reporting has alleged
[13:59] Speaker 10: the company they misled the public about what its own
[14:02] Speaker 10: science has found about the risks of climate change and
[14:05] Speaker 10: greenhouse gases.
[14:07] Speaker 1: A treasure trove of documents revealed that oil companies had
[14:11] Speaker 1: known the impact their product would have for decades and
[14:14] Speaker 1: had set about discrediting the science and spreading confusion about it.
[14:18] Speaker 1: Role fossil fuel companies played in stopping action on climate
[14:21] Speaker 1: change was surprising to crabbers. Here's Noah Oppenheim again.
[14:26] Speaker 4: The deep regulatory capture of federal agencies and representative bodies
[14:32] Speaker 4: has been the most surprising aspect of this whole discovery
[14:36] Speaker 4: phase of the inner workings of the fossil fuel companies,
[14:40] Speaker 4: the extent to which they have bought and paid for policy,
[14:45] Speaker 4: basically co opting democratic institutions in order to get their
[14:50] Speaker 4: agenda further. I mean, that's been American politics for generations,
[14:54] Speaker 4: but it feels different in this instance. It feels like
[14:59] Speaker 4: it's been effective beyond anyone's wildest dreams.
[15:05] Speaker 1: When Crapper's and lawyers first talked about whether or not
[15:08] Speaker 1: they might have a case against oil companies, a lot
[15:11] Speaker 1: of the fishermen had a similar reaction as Ben Platt.
[15:14] Speaker 2: At first sniff, it sounded like, you know, pretty far fetched.
[15:18] Speaker 2: You know, My initial reaction was just like a lot
[15:20] Speaker 2: of other fishermen. It's like, well, I have a diesel
[15:23] Speaker 2: engine in my boat, so why would I want to
[15:27] Speaker 2: sue a fossil fuel company. And I was still fairly
[15:30] Speaker 2: skeptical about whether or not I wanted to be involved
[15:33] Speaker 2: in it. I was aware that there would be backlash
[15:37] Speaker 2: from other fishermen over something like this. We're all going
[15:40] Speaker 2: to have whatever opinion we have about whatever particular fishery
[15:44] Speaker 2: issue we're talking about right now, or having a meeting about,
[15:47] Speaker 2: or strike or whatever. But we're very divided, just like
[15:51] Speaker 2: the rest of the country on national and international politics.
[15:55] Speaker 2: So you know, I have to live with all these guys.
[15:58] Speaker 2: These guys are my buddies, They're my friends, people I
[16:00] Speaker 2: grew up with. You know, we share communities together, and
[16:04] Speaker 2: these coastal communities are tight knit too, not just the
[16:07] Speaker 2: fishing communities, and if you've been fishing long enough, it's
[16:10] Speaker 2: like one big family. A lot of us know each
[16:12] Speaker 2: other and knew each other's parents and brothers and aunts
[16:15] Speaker 2: and uncles and sisters. And I have that kind of
[16:17] Speaker 2: connection with people from more Obey to southeast Alaska. So
[16:22] Speaker 2: I'm reluctant to be part of something that might anger
[16:26] Speaker 2: a lot other my fellow fishermen. But you know, in
[16:30] Speaker 2: the end, you know, you have to stand on principle
[16:34] Speaker 2: that you believe in. I mean, that's what I was taught,
[16:37] Speaker 2: and so if I separate all that from the facts
[16:39] Speaker 2: of the lawsuit and what they're trying to achieve, I
[16:42] Speaker 2: believe it's the right thing to do.
[16:44] Speaker 1: Enough of the rest of the fleet agreed that the
[16:46] Speaker 1: Trade Federation decided to take on the case. Just as
[16:50] Speaker 1: the whale entanglement case began to move forward, Crabber's decided
[16:54] Speaker 1: to take matters into their own hands and sued what
[16:57] Speaker 1: they'd come to believe was the real culprit.
[17:00] Speaker 2: Fossil fuel companies knew about the warming of the climate,
[17:04] Speaker 2: they knew the effect it would have on the ocean,
[17:06] Speaker 2: and they had all this information a long time ago,
[17:09] Speaker 2: and they didn't share it with public because it would
[17:12] Speaker 2: have affected their bottom line.
[17:23] Speaker 1: Next time on drill a recap of what oil companies
[17:26] Speaker 1: did know about climate change and when and what sort
[17:29] Speaker 1: of case the Crabbers have.
[17:31] Speaker 11: We need to start doing something.
[17:34] Speaker 3: We have a long road ahead of us, and if
[17:36] Speaker 3: we don't start, we're never going to get there.
[17:39] Speaker 11: The same time that there's this public promulgation of doubt
[17:44] Speaker 11: you have internally the companies making enormous investments in their
[17:50] Speaker 11: own infrastructure and planning for the future.
[17:52] Speaker 4: Everybody uses fossil fuel petroleum products in the United States.
[17:57] Speaker 4: You can't buy food without it, you can't travel in
[18:02] Speaker 4: this country without it, you can't wear clothing without it.
[18:06] Speaker 4: So while the products that we as consumers use every
[18:12] Speaker 4: day may be produced by this industry, that does not
[18:17] Speaker 4: negate in any way whatsoever the responsibility that they have
[18:20] Speaker 4: in disclosing the harm that they knew was being facilitated
[18:26] Speaker 4: by the production of these products.
[18:30] Speaker 1: Drilled is produced and distributed by Critical Frequency. The show
[18:35] Speaker 1: was created and reported by me Amy Westervelt. Raka Murphy
[18:39] Speaker 1: is our editorial advisor. An additional editing for this series
[18:42] Speaker 1: was done by Julia Ritchie. The series was mixed by
[18:46] Speaker 1: Bill Lance. Our season two music was composed by Elliott Peltzman.
[18:51] Speaker 1: Season two cover art was drawn by Angela Scheh. Drilled
[18:54] Speaker 1: is supported in part by a generous grant from the
[18:56] Speaker 1: Institute for Governance and Sustainable Development. You can listen and
[19:01] Speaker 1: subscribe to Drilled on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get
[19:04] Speaker 1: your podcasts. If you like the show, don't forget to
[19:07] Speaker 1: give us a five star rating. It helps us find
[19:09] Speaker 1: more listeners and combat peskey climate deniers. Visit our website
[19:14] Speaker 1: Drilled podcast dot com for behind the scenes photos and
[19:17] Speaker 1: additional information about this series. You can also drop us
[19:21] Speaker 1: a tip or story idea there and sign up for
[19:23] Speaker 1: our newsletter. Or you can find me on Twitter. I'm
[19:26] Speaker 1: at Amy Westerveld. Thanks for listening.

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