March 8, 2021 — With New Jersey’s commercial fishing industry about to receive a second round of federal coronavirus aid, boat owners and those who run fishing-related businesses say the extra money is helping keep them afloat amid a sea of red ink.
The state’s fishing industry received $11 million last March under the CARES Act, an early aid bill passed in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.
And it should get roughly the same amount under a second bill passed by Congress in December, U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. said Monday. Pallone, (D-NJ) held a news conference Monday at the Belford Seafood Cooperative in Middletown with boat owners and those who run related businesses.
Many said the extra money could make the difference between working and not working this spring and summer. They declined to say how much each individually received under the measure.
“I’ve been on a boat with my family since I was 7 years old,” said Capt. Richard Isaksen, president of the fishing cooperative. “We still haven’t recovered from Superstorm Sandy that hurt us badly with eight feet of water on the dock and (which) wiped everything out.”
The 2012 storm caused widespread devastation in New Jersey, New York and other northeastern coastal states.