Saving Seafood

MASSACHUSETTS: Technology, marketing among 20 Massachusetts grants for $1.6 million

July 6, 2023 — Massachusetts state officials announced $1.6 million in grants will go to 20 businesses and organizations “to support innovative approaches to enhance Massachusetts commercial marine fisheries and the seafood industry.”

“Massachusetts is a leader in protecting the health of our fishing industry, and this funding shows our commitment to keep the industry thriving by utilizing cutting-edge technology and the latest scientific research,” Gov. Maura Healey said in announcing the grants June 30. “Our administration is taking a holistic approach to combating climate change, which includes supporting our fisheries, advancing green energy, and enhancing the state’s blue economy.”

The funding is coming through the Environmental Economic Innovation and Resiliency in Marine Fisheries Grant Program, supplemented by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). The goal is encouraging projects “that work to mitigate economic barriers resulting from climate change and promote sustainable, local fisheries development in Massachusetts,” according to the state Division of Marine Fisheries.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

MASSACHUSETTS: New Bedford in line to get $30 million to improve waterfront Marine Commerce Terminal

February 10, 2022 — The Port of New Bedford was the nation’s highest value port for the 20th consecutive year in 2021 as announced by the National Marine Fisheries Service.

And the city could be getting $30 million to invest in improving the New Bedford Marine Commerce Terminal.

According to a news release from Sen. Mark Montigny, the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center Board of Directors voted to approve a motion authorizing $90 million to be spent from the Offshore Wind Industry Investment Fund created by the legislature in December 2021.

The funding reserves $30 million to expand capacity at the New Bedford Marine Commerce Terminal. The money is from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and state revenues that are held in MassCEC’s coffers to enhance the terminal.

Read the full story from the New Bedford Standard-Times

MASSACHUSETTS: Rep. Moulton thrilled by GMGI’s progress

January 7, 2022 — U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Salem, joined local officials, including newly installed Mayor Greg Verga, during a tour of the nonprofit Gloucester Marine Genomics Institute’s waterfront facility on Main Street.

There, he learned how the institute is making a difference when it comes to spurring marine biotech research in this 399-year-old seaport undergoing a sea change from its legacy fishing industry to a community able to attract life sciences companies.

He saw firsthand programs that will be helped by $1 million from the state Legislature’s pandemic relief bill, a combination of money from the federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and the state budget surplus.

After a tour of the lab at 417 Main St. with GMGI Executive Director Christine Bolzan and science director Andrea Bodnar, the small entourage, including state Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr, R-Gloucester, state Rep. Ann-Margaret Ferrante, D-Gloucester, and GMGI Board member Bill Kane, drove five minutes up the road to GMGI’s Biotechnology Academy at 55 Blackburn Center to tour the biotech workforce training center with Education Director John Doyle.

“This is fantastic,” Moulton said afterward. “I mean this is exactly what we need to see more of in terms of education but also in terms of our economy. There’s a synergy between the economic lifeblood of Massachusetts and tremendous educational opportunities for our students, this is incredible.”

Read the full story at the Gloucester Times

US seafood industry set to benefit from COVID-19 relief package

March 17, 2021 — U.S. President Joe Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act into law on Thursday, 11 March, almost one year after the CARES Act established the country’s first federal coronavirus relief bill.

The USD 1.9 trillion (EUR 1.6 trillion) American Rescue Plan Act is the largest spending package in U.S. history and contains significantly less relief for the commercial fishing and seafood industries than the CARES Act included, though much of that funding is yet to be distributed.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Biden signs American Rescue Plan, providing aid for restaurants, seafood industry

March 11, 2021 — U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday, 11 March, signed the USD 1.9 trillion (EUR 1.59 trillion) American Rescue Plan Act into law, opening the door for billions in aid to go to businesses – including nearly USD 29 billion (EUR 24.2 billion) for a restaurant industry that’s been battered by closures and other restrictions over the past year due to COVID-19.

On Thursday, the National Restaurant Association lauded the bill’s Restaurant Revitalization Fund, which association president and CEO Tom Bene said will help save jobs across the country.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

American Rescue Plan Act faces US Senate scrutiny this week

March 2, 2021 — U.S. foodservice industry groups celebrated after the House of Representatives passed the American Rescue Plan Act – U.S. President Joe Biden’s proposed USD 1.9 trillion (EUR 1.6 trillion) COVID-19 relief plan – in the early morning hours of Sunday, 28 February.

The legislation includes a USD 25 billion (EUR 21 billion) restaurant grant program, as well as USD 3.6 billion (EUR 3 billion) to support the food supply chain, including food purchases and loans to small- and mid-sized processors, with a specific mention of seafood processing facilities. The bill also calls for the creation of a USD 15 billion (EUR 13 billion) grant program for small business owners, separate from the existing Paycheck Protection Program.

Read the full story at Seafood Source