Damon McKnight is the owner of Super Strike Charters, which operates three boats in Venice, La. With most of the local waters now closed, his boats and staff are idle.
McKnight was paid $5,000 in early May to compensate him for the month's lost wages, and BP says those checks will keep coming each month. Among his employees, the captains of two of his boats got $2,500 each, while deckhands each received $1,000.
But that's a drop in the bucket compared to what they could have earned out on the water, McKnight says. In a good year, his company can pull in $50,000 a month during the fishing season's May to August peak.
BP reports that 41,958 claims have been opened, from which more than $52.9 million has been disbursed. No claims have been denied to date.
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