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View Gallery.A hard hat from an oil worker lies in oil from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on …
….BARATARIA BAY, La. (AP) — Two years after the massive Gulf of Mexico oil spill, scientists say they’re finding trouble with sick fish that dwell along offshore reefs and in the deep waters — especially in places where the oil spill hit the hardest.

The scientists are unsure what’s causing a small percentage of the fish they’re catching to have large open sores and strange black streaks. The biggest question is whether contaminants from the BP spill are causing the problems. For now scientists can’t say for sure if the spill is the cause or if it’s normal to find this number of sick fish.

The fish illnesses don’t pose an increased health threat to humans, scientists say, but they could be devastating to prized species and the people who make their living catching them

The London-based oil company still expects under Wednesday’s settlements to pay $7.8 billion to resolve economic, property and medical claims by more than 100,000 individuals and businesses, though there is no cap.

That payout would make the accord one of the largest class-action settlements in U.S. history.

“Neither side will receive everything it wants,” but the settlements are “more than fair, reasonable and adequate” and could avert a decade of litigation, BP and plaintiffs’ lawyers said in papers filed in New Orleans federal court.

This Friday is the two-year anniversary of the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig, which killed 11 workers and triggered the largest offshore oil spill after BP’s Macondo well ruptured. An estimated 4.1 million barrels of oil were spilled and not cleaned up.

“BP made a commitment to help economic and environmental restoration efforts in the Gulf Coast,” Chief Executive Bob Dudley said in a statement. “This settlement provides the framework for us to continue delivering on that promise, offering those affected full and fair compensation, without waiting for the outcome of a lengthy trial process.”

In a separate statement, Stephen Herman and James Roy, lawyers on the so-called Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee, said the settlement holds BP “fully accountable.”

Lawyers for the plaintiffs are seeking up to $600 million to cover fees and costs, including a $75 million interim award. These are separate from amounts paid to victims.

BP still faces tens of billions of dollars of potential claims from the government; Gulf states; and drilling partners Transocean Ltd, which owned the rig, and Halliburton Co, which provided cementing services.

The oil company’s potential liability for violating the federal Clean Water Act alone could reach as high as $17.6 billion upon a finding of gross negligence. BP has already taken a $37.2 billion charge for the spill.

90 MILLION PAGES

About 109,000 condominium owners, hotel and resort operators, restaurateurs, shrimpers and others may be eligible to recover on economic and property claims, court papers show.

The medical settlement addresses claims by people made ill from exposure to oil or chemical dispersants. It covers clean-up workers and residents of beachfront or wetlands areas, and lets people who develop symptoms later to sue BP at that time. About 16,000 plaintiffs have submitted claims, court papers show.

Those ineligible to recover include financial institutions, casinos, people claiming hardship from an Obama administration moratorium on deepwater drilling, and some private plaintiffs in Florida and Texas.

Wednesday’s settlements follow depositions of 311 witnesses, and the production of about 90 million pages of documents and about 20 terabytes of data.

District Judge Carl Barbier is scheduled to consider preliminary approval of the accords around November 8, with final approval to come later.

That suggests any trial on remaining issues — government pollution claims, claims against BP’s drilling partners, and claims among BP and those partners — would not begin until well into 2013, if not later. Barbier is expected to meet with the parties behind closed doors on May 3 to discuss the case.

BP shares closed down 6.5 pence at 448.1 pence in London, Reuters data show.

COULD $7.8 BILLION PAYOUT GROW?

Prior to the settlement, the lawyer Kenneth Feinberg had paid out $6.1 billion to spill victims who submitted claims under BP’s $20 billion Gulf Coast Claims Facility.

BP expects the $7.8 billion payment to come from that trust. Claimants with final offers from Feinberg can receive 60 percent of their money now, and if eligible under the new program may receive the remaining 40 percent or seek higher awards.

Payouts are continuing, and being overseen by Patrick Juneau, a Lafayette, Louisiana lawyer appointed by the court.

“The PSC seems to believe the court-appointed administrator will be more generous than Feinberg,” said Tony Buzbee, a lawyer in Houston who said he represents 15,000 people and businesses with claims. “I believe the $7.8 billion figure will grow.”

Wednesday’s settlements award $2.3 billion to commercial fishermen, seafood boat captains and others for damage related to shrimp, oysters, blue crab and other species.

Another $57 million will be used to “promote the Gulf Coast,” including tourism and the seafood industry.

FLORIDA AG SOUGHT DELAY

Last week, Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi asked Barbier to delay preliminary approval to let potential plaintiffs, including various Florida claimants and others who might be left out, assess the “fairness and rationale” behind the accords.

Buzbee expects the settlements to win approval, and said their structures may limit opposition.

“That payments continue even while the settlement is being reviewed takes away one of the primary arguments an objector might have,” he said. “That the (legal) fees will not come out of victims’ pockets will take a lot of the fire out of the bellies of people who might have objected,” he added.

Jennifer Meale, a spokeswoman for Bondi, said her office is reviewing the settlements. Wyn Hornbuckle, a Department of Justice spokesman, declined to comment. Spokespeople for other Gulf states, Halliburton and Transocean had no immediate comment or did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The case is In re: Oil Spill by the Oil Rig “Deepwater Horizon” in the Gulf of Mexico, on April 20, 2010, District Court, Eastern District of Louisiana, No. 10-md-02179.

(Reporting By Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Dale Hudson and