February 13, 2018 — SEAFOOD NEWS — Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross on Friday declared catastrophic fishery disasters in Florida, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico due to impacts from Hurricanes Irma and Maria in August and September of 2017. The governors of those areas requested the declarations after the hurricanes made landfall last year.
Under the Interjurisdictional Fisheries Act and the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, the governors asked the Secretary of Commerce to determine whether a commercial fishery failure occurred due to a fishery resource disaster, in these cases caused by destructive hurricanes.
“The Department of Commerce and NOAA support the rebuilding efforts of communities across the Gulf which were devastated by hurricanes in the past year,” Ross said in a statement. “This declaration provides a path forward to helping fishermen and businesses recover and grow.”
Through these fishery disaster declarations, participants in the fisheries are now eligible for Small Business Administration disaster loans. Additionally, because these fisheries are in areas declared a presidential disaster, public fishery infrastructure-related losses are eligible for Federal Emergency Management Agency Public Assistance. Economic Development Administration grants and Department of Housing and Urban Development Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery funds are another potential source of assistance for fisheries pending allocations and grantee Action Plans.
Similar fishery failure declarations in the Southeast region were made in the past, following Hurricane Isaac in 2012, Louisiana; Hurricanes Gustav and Ike in 2008, Gulf of Mexico; Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, Gulf of Mexico; and more.
“These determinations provide the basis for Congress to appropriate disaster relief funding under the MSA and IFA,” Ross wrote in a letter to Florida Gov. Rick Scott. “Should Congress appropriate disaster relief funding, NMFS will work with your state to develop a spend plan to assist with the recovery of Florida’ s fishing industry and fishing communities.” Similar letters were sent to U.S. Virgin Islands Governor Kenneth E. Mapp and Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rossello Nevares.
The governors’ letters detailed expected fisheries-related losses due to the hurricanes. Gov. Scott said Florida’s recreational fishing had an impact of $7.6 billion and the dockside value of commercial fisheries is estimated at $244 million.
Gov. Mapp noted the value of recreational fisheries to the U.S. Virgin Islands has not been calculated but a signification portion of the 3 million tourists who visit annually participate in sport fishing activities. The Virgin Islands’ commercial fishery is composed of artisanal fishermen using small nets and commercial fishermen who use traditional gears such as spears, hooks and lines and traps. They landed more than 772,555 pounds of fish in 2016, sold primarily in open-air markets. The estimated value, including direct economic effects, is more than $5 million annually, the governor said in his letter.
“Although assessments have not been completed due to the substantial damage to our infrastructure and a resultant inability to move around Puerto Rico, it is expected that economic and social impacts will be significant. A conservative valuation of our fisheries economy indicates direct economic effects of $29 million dockside value from commercial fishing,” Gov. Nevares said in his letter to NOAA. Puerto Rico also had more than 600,000 recreational angler trips in 2016.
All the governors noted significant losses of infrastructure such as docks, fish houses and transportation and facilities, in addition to fishermen losing their vessels and gear.
This story originally appeared on Seafoodnews.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission.