February 25, 2014 — NEW BEDFORD — Mayor Jon Mitchell has written to U.S. Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker with some suggestions about how to used the $75 million in commercial fisheries emergency relief approved by Congress earlier this year.
"The disaster funding offers an important opportunity not only to relieve those who have suffered economic loss, but to ensure that our fishing feet is prepared for the future," he wrote in a Feb. 24 letter.
Mitchell suggested using the money to boost industry efforts to participate in fisheries science; retrain fishermen who have been forced out; support service programs for crew and families; assist with loans; and maintain on-shore infrastructure support.
The $75 million is directed mainly at three areas of the country: the Northeast, the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Northwest.
Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard Times
View the letter from New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell to U.S. Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker