WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Olympia J. Snowe (R-Maine), Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard, announced that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration today declared a fisheries disaster following the red tide bloom of 2009 that closed 97 percent of Maine’s shellfish beds. In a phone call with the U.S. Department of Commerce Secretary Gary Locke this week, Senator Snowe urged the Secretary to respond to Governor Baldacci’s request for a disaster declaration, which was supported by the state’s entire Congressional delegation 14 months ago on October 19, 2009.
“As I told Secretary Locke on Monday, this declaration is a long overdue first step toward providing relief for the estimated 3,000 shell fishermen and dealers who participate in this vital $50 million industry. By any estimation, 2009 was the worst year in recent memory for Maine’s shellfish industry due to the most virulent red tide bloom Maine has experienced since the early 1980’s. The fact of the matter is these closures, which affected 69 percent of our state’s coastal communities, far surpassed the closures in 2005 and 2008 that affected 40 percent of Maine’s coastal towns, for which the Department of Commerce declared a disaster and allocated emergency funds,” said Senator Snowe. “While I am dismayed at the amount of time that has passed since our request was submitted, today’s announcement by the Secretary paves the way for Congress to allocate relief funding and ultimately help defray the economic hardship that resulted from these devastating closures that occurred during difficult economic times. I pledge to work with my colleagues to ensure that, as in years past, those affected by this disaster benefit from emergency relief funding.”
Read the Maine Delegation letter sent to Secretary Locke on October 19, 2009.