Saving Seafood

LOUISIANA: LDWF to begin accepting CARES Act applications for fishermen affected by pandemic

September 10, 2020 — The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries will soon begin accepting applications for $14.6 million in financial assistance that will be available to Louisiana fishermen and others in the industry who have been financially affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The funds are part of the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. Applications open at 8 a.m. Monday, Sept. 14, and must be submitted online.

To access the application, please visit www.wlf.louisiana.gov/page/cares-act-assistance. The application process will be open for a six-week period. The deadline to submit applications is 11:59 p.m. on Oct. 26. Funding allocation is structured so that all applications submitted before the deadline will be considered.

“These federal funds are a great step toward helping our hardworking fishing community start to recover from the terrible financial losses the pandemic has caused their businesses and their families,” said Governor John Bel Edwards. “We will continue working with our federal partners to bring more funding to our fishing community now going through two years of economic hardships.”

LDWF is aware that Hurricane Laura may have adversely impacted many individuals wishing to apply for this program. LDWF will continually assess the application process and make adjustments as necessary.

Read the full story at KALB

Maine’s seafood industry in line for CARES Act relief

September 8, 2020 — Maine’s seafood industry could get a $20 million boost this fall through funds made available under the federal CARES Act.

Marine Resources Commissioner Patrick Keliher said state and federal officials are nearing final agreement on exactly how to allocate the funds.

Maine Public reports that individual fishing license holders and shellfish growers who qualify will get the same lump-sum payment, no matter how large or small the operation.

The funds will go to seafood-sector businesses that lost at least 35% of their revenues compared with the same period in previous years.

Read the full story at The Hour

Maine hits snag in effort to distribute pandemic aid to seafood industry

September 4, 2020 — Maine’s plan to distribute the $20 million in COVID-19 relief earmarked for the state’s seafood industry is facing unexpected opposition from federal regulators who say individual recipients, not the fishery as a whole, must demonstrate a 35 percent revenue loss this spring before they can qualify for pandemic assistance.

All of the active licensed fishermen, aquaculturists and dealers in almost all of Maine’s commercial fisheries would have been eligible to receive a share of the state bailout fund under the fishery-by-fishery certification strategy proposed by the Maine Department of Marine Resources in July, Commissioner Pat Keliher said.

“However, later in our conversations, we were told that the 35 percent impact must be demonstrated at the level of the individual license holder,” Keliher said in an email to commercial fishermen on Thursday. “For some of you, that might be easy. Others may find it harder.”

The agency didn’t respond Thursday to questions about how many license holders could be ineligible using individual certification.

Read the full story at the Portland Press Herald

New bureaucratic snags delay dispersal of $20M in pandemic relief to Maine’s seafood industry

September 4, 2020 — Federal regulators have disputed Maine’s plan to distribute $20 million in coronavirus relief to the state seafood industry by saying that individual recipients, not the fishery as a whole, must demonstrate a 35 percent revenue loss this past spring before they can qualify for assistance, officials said Thursday.

Maine Commissioner of Marine Resources Patrick Keliher had said on Tuesday that after some frustrating delays, state and federal officials were nearing agreement on exactly how to allocate the funds, by the end of October, from the federal CARES Act.

But newly-announced regulations are delaying the dispersal of funds, he said.

Maine has been in line to get $20 million, the fifth-highest amount of money out of the 31 states to receive fishing-industry bailout funding, since the allocation was first announced in May, but disputes over how to distribute the funds have slowed its dispersal.

Read the full story at the Bangor Daily News

Georgia becomes latest state to gain CARES Act spend-plan approval

August 28, 2020 — Georgia has become the latest state in the U.S. to gain approval from NOAA for its plan to allocate its CARES Act funds to relevant seafood industry interests in the state.

The funds are part of a USD 300 million (EUR 252 million) pot of funds allocated to 20 states in May. Each state received a separate portion of the money, with Georgia receiving just over USD 1.9 million (EUR 1.59 million) – among the lowest amounts awarded.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

NEW JERSEY: $11.3 Million in Pandemic Aid to State Fisheries Discussed

August 26, 2020 — Disbursement of over $11.3 million from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act was discussed at the Aug. 17 meeting of the Atlantic Coast section of the N.J. Shellfisheries Council. Led by John Maxwell of Atlantic County, 26 members met virtually to discuss various topics with state Bureau of Shellfisheries representatives.

At the top of the list is the distribution of $11,337,797 New Jersey will receive from the CARES Act to assist commercial fisheries that have been negatively affected by the pandemic.

Joseph Cimino from the state Department of Environmental Protection’s Marine Fisheries Administration said they have sent a required spending plan to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for review. The plan would allocate 50 percent of the funds received to commercial fisheries and aquaculture, 35 percent to processors and dealers and 10 percent to for-hire recreational and charter fleets.

Read the full story at The Sand Paper

Florida Keys Spiny Lobster Fishermen Start Make-or-Break Season

August 11, 2020 — Commercial spiny lobster season officially started Friday under the less than optimal conditions and this season could be make or break for some fishermen in that fishery.

The Keys are the epicenter of the the country’s spiny lobster fishery, and it is the most lucrative commercial fishery in the Keys, generating for than $35 million a year directly to the local economy.

Read the full story at Seafood News

MASSACHUSETTS: Baker Polito Administration Announces Disaster Relief Funding for Fishing and Seafood Industries

August 10, 2020 — The Baker-Polito Administration has announced the distribution of $27.8 million in federal disaster relief funding to mitigate the financial impacts to the fishing and seafood industries from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Division of Marine Fisheries worked with fishing industry stakeholders to develop a plan to distribute the federal fisheries assistance, which has now been approved by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

“The fishing and seafood industries are integral parts of the economy, history and culture of Massachusetts,” said Governor Charlie Baker.

“Our Administration remains dedicated to supporting these industries, and we look forward to getting these needed relief funds to impacted fishermen and businesses as quickly as possible.”

Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito added, “These funds will be a needed lifeline for the Commonwealth’s fishing and seafood businesses, as well as the families and coastal communities who rely on these industries.”

“The distribution of these CARES Act funds is another important step in our efforts to help those who have been impacted by the pandemic.”

Read the full story at CapeCod.com

Relief funds available to Oregon fishing businesses

August 10, 2020 — Financial assistance is available to Oregon fishermen and fishing-related businesses impacted by the coronavirus.

An application period for nearly $16 million in federal CARES Act funds has opened and extends through Sept. 8. The money is available to a wide range of fishing-related businesses, from small fishing vessels run by a handful of one or two people to large processing operations.

State leaders anticipate the federal funds will not be enough to address all the coronavirus impacts to the fisheries industry. They have provided an additional $2.5 million in state CARES Act relief funds.

Read the full story at The Astorian

Pallone, Kim Lead NJ Delegation in Call for Fishing Industry Aid in Next Coronavirus Package

August 6, 2020 — The following was released by The Office of Congressman Frank Pallone Jr. (D-NJ):

“The men and women of New Jersey’s fishing communities dedicate their lives to putting food on our tables and now it’s time for us to ensure there’s food on theirs.”

Washington, DC – Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06) and Congressman Andy Kim (NJ-3) led their New Jersey colleagues in a bipartisan letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy today calling for funding to help the fishing industry in the next coronavirus relief package. A decline in tourism and a reduction in restaurant operations have been deeply harmful to New Jersey’s fishing industry. The pandemic also arrived in New Jersey at the start of the critically important Striped Bass and Black Fish season.

“The commercial and recreational fishing industry in our home state of New Jersey has felt the devastating economic impacts of the pandemic. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting economic downturn, restaurants that serve seafood have either closed or reduced operations. This reduction along with a decline in tourism have caused significant disruptions throughout the seafood supply chain and created substantial economic hardship for both commercial and charter fishing operations in our state,” the letter stated.

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act that Congress passed and was signed into law in March allocated $300 million in fisheries assistance. In April, Pallone sent a letter with the New Jersey delegation calling on the Trump Administration to fairly and quickly distribute financial aid to the fishing industries in states like New Jersey that incurred greater economic losses as a result of the pandemic. Pallone later announced New Jersey would receive $11 million in federal funding to help the state’s fishing industry.

New Jersey’s commercial fishing industry generates over $8 billion annually supporting over 50,000 jobs and has one of the largest saltwater recreational fishing industries in the United States.

A copy of the letter is available here.