January 23, 2014 — Representatives of commercial and recreational fisheries and other iconic Jersey Shore activities hobbled by Sandy expressed concern Wednesday that the pot of money they hoped would help them recover will be spread too thin.
"We will be competing with Alaska and Massachusetts," said Tom Fote of the Jersey Coast Anglers Association, referring to a pool of $75 million in federal appropriations approved by Congress, but not limited to Sandy-ravaged areas, as they had lobbied for. "We have the West Coast with salmon issues. It'll be a battle."
Fote and others convened on a teleconference call organized by U.S. Strong, a nonprofit, nonpartisan group that has been advocating a dedicated source of federal funding for future extreme weather relief and protection.
Advocates for both recreational and commercial fishing interests said recovery is at best incomplete.
"The timing of Hurricane Sandy couldn't have been worse," said Paul Eidman, a captain and owner of Reel Therapy Fly & Light Tackle Fishing Charters in Monmouth County. "It was right in the middle of striped bass and blackfish season. The economy had hurt us long before Sandy, but when Sandy hit, it seemed to put the last nail in the coffin for a lot of us recreational fishermen."
With waterways impassable, docks destroyed, boats totaled, and tourism down, the billion-dollar economy built up around these activities wilted, down anywhere from 34 percent to 42 percent.
Read the full story at The Philadelphia Inquirer