"NEW ORLEANS — Under a new formula announced on Wednesday by Kenneth R. Feinberg, the administrator of the $20 billion fund set up by BP for victims of the 2010 oil spill, shrimp and crab fishermen along the Gulf Coast may be eligible for settlement payments significantly larger than what they were previously offered."

"In making the changes, the Gulf Coast Claims Facility, which Mr. Feinberg administers, said it “recognizes the ongoing uncertainty regarding the state of the commercial harvesting of shrimp and crab in the gulf.”

Under the new rules, shrimp and crab fishermen are eligible for a final settlement equal to four times their demonstrable losses from 2010. Previously, they were eligible for twice their losses, as are claimants from other industries. Only oyster farmers, whose crop takes years to replenish, had been eligible for four times their losses."

Campbell Robertson reports for the New York Times November 30, 2011. [2]