For fishermen foundering due to the cost and pressure of rules, regulations and the feeble economy, there is help available from a borrowing source that — oddly, in today's environment — is seeking comers.
The Cape Ann Commercial Fishermen's Loan Fund, established in 1975 with $250,000 in federal grants, provides money for fishing businesses that have exhausted traditional loan avenues. Propped by an additional $140,000 in the 1990s, said loan administrator Nina Jarvis, the fund probably topped out at about $750,000, boosted by interest payments and investment management, handled by Cape Ann Savings Bank.
The last surviving fishing fund created by the federal government in the wake of the 1976 Magnuson-Stevens Act, the loans have helped 50-60 businesses over the years, said Jarvis, without a single default.
It loaned $100,000 last month alone, and there is still money available for repairs, upgrades, equipment and such, said Jarvis, who also works as bookkeeper at the Gloucester Seafood Display Auction. The interest rate is 7 percent.
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