Saving Seafood

Lawmakers say West Coast seafood industry excluded from USDA CARES Act program

April 19, 2021 — A group of 10 West Coast lawmakers have reached out to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack to see why fishermen and processors in their region have largely been left out of a program created through COVID-19 relief measures.

Led by U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-Oregon), the Senators and House members sent a letter to Vilsack noting that the fishing industry in California, Oregon, and Washington state account for more than USD 500 million (EUR 417.5 million) in seafood products produced in the country, roughly about 13 percent of all domestic seafood goods.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

‘Déjà vu for Louisiana’s fisheries’: Fishermen to receive federal aid to offset COVID-19 losses

April 5, 2021 — Louisiana fishermen and others in the industry will receive $12.5 million in federal aid to help offset financial losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

It’s part of a $255 million package approved by Congress in December as part of a larger COVID relief and budget bill.

“Our priority is to award these funds as quickly as possible using existing processes established under the CARES Act,” Paul Doremus, acting assistant administrator for NOAA Fisheries, said in announcing the aid last week.

It’s the second round of money aimed at helping fishermen weather the downturn in business caused by the pandemic.

Last year, Louisiana received $14.8 million from the CARES Act, which included about $300 million to aid the fishing industry throughout the U.S.

Read the full story at Houma Today

The Additional $255 Million in CARES Act Funding Broken Down By State

April 2, 2021 — Earlier this week NOAA Fisheries announced that an additional $255 million will be allocated to states and territories with coastal and marine fishery participants who have been negatively affected by COVID-19. The new funding, which falls under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), follows an initial $300 million that was set aside for fisheries assistance earlier this year. Now, we’re taking a look at the latest funding and how it’s being broken down by state. You can find the full rundown below:

Alaska – $40 million

Washington – $40 million

Massachusetts – $23,632,530

“Our fishing industries are at the core of our culture and economy in Massachusetts,” said state Senator Ed Markey. “Given the unrelenting challenges associated with the pandemic, the $23 million in aid for the Commonwealth is another down-payment on the help these industries deserve. We are home to the highest grossing port in the nation, and additional support will be needed to match our vital contribution to the fishing economy.”

Read the full story at Seafood News

Louisiana Fisherman Decry Lack of Pandemic Recovery Funding

April 2, 2021 — There aren’t too many times someone can offer you $12.4 million dollars and you feel like you’ve been cheated. However, that’s exactly the way a number of Louisiana fishing families and business owners must be feeling this morning after finding out just how badly Louisiana is getting hosed by administrators of the CARES Act Fisheries Funding program.

That program authorized $255 million dollars in federal money to support states whose fishing industries were severely disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic. That’s a good thing. Especially when you consider that Louisiana is the second-largest producer of seafood in the country.

Just so you can understand just how distorted the distribution of funds from this federal program actually is, please consider this. Louisiana will receive $12.4 million dollars under the program. Washington state will receive $40 million even though Louisiana has a 50% greater value to our fisheries landings.

Read the full story at KPEL

$23.6M in fish aid coming to Massachusetts

April 2, 2021 — Elements of the Massachusetts seafood industry are set to receive another $23.6 million as part of continuing federal and state efforts to mitigate the detrimental impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Massachusetts allocation represents 9% of the total $255 million in new federal fisheries assistance funding and supplements the $28 million allocated to the Bay State fishing industry from the CARES Act in March 2020.

“It’s basically the same as the first round,” said Dan McKiernan, director of the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries. “We’re being urged to get the money out as quickly as possible.”

McKiernan expects the process for distributing the money to be almost identical that in 2020 when the state distributed the $28 million from the CARES Act appropriation.

As in 2020, the Massachusetts allocation is the third largest among all states. Only Alaska and Washington, at $40 million each, received more.

Elsewhere in New England, Maine was fifth among all states with a $17.14 million allocation. New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Connecticut each received $3 million.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

SENATOR MARKEY RESPONDS TO $23 MILLION IN FISHERIES ASSISTANCE FUNDING FOR MASSACHUSETTS

April 1, 2021 — The following was released by The Office of Senator Ed Markey (D-MA):

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released its plan to distribute $255 million in fisheries disaster funds appropriated in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, supporting previously authorized activities in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. Massachusetts received $23 million, the third-highest award out of the 28 fishing states and territories that were listed. In 2020, Massachusetts received $28 million from the initial CARES Act fisheries disaster funding appropriations. For 20 consecutive years, New Bedford has remained the highest grossing port in the country, bringing in more than $430 million annually.

“Our fishing industries are at the core of our culture and economy in Massachusetts. Given the unrelenting challenges associated with the pandemic, the $23 million in aid for the Commonwealth is another down-payment on the help these industries deserve,” said Senator Markey. “We are home to the highest grossing port in the nation, and additional support will be needed to match our vital contribution to the fishing economy.”

Massachusetts lawmakers, led by Senators Markey and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), have championed the allocation of financial aid to fishery participants. In March 2020, Senators Markey and Warren, and Alaska Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan called on Senate leadership to include support for the fishing industry in coronavirus economic relief packages and secured a $20 million USDA procurement of Atlantic seafood.

In April 2020, Senators Markey and Warren led a letter urging the Department of Commerce and NOAA to act swiftly, equitably, and transparently in allocating fisheries disaster assistance funding. Also in April of last year, Senators Markey and Warren led a letter to the Commerce Department demanding immediate release of federal guidance on how fishery participants could access the $300 million in CARES Act funds, and identified the bureaucratic inefficiencies that were behind the failure to issue this guidance in a timely manner. In June 2020, Senators Markey and Warren called on Senate leadership to include additional fisheries assistance in the next coronavirus relief package.

Wyden, Merkley Announce Oregon Fisheries to receive $13 Million in Disaster Assistance

April 1, 2021 — The following was released by The Office of Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR):

U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley announced today that Oregon fisheries will receive more than $13 million in fisheries assistance from the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

“Oregon’s fishing industry up and down the coast has been cast adrift by the pandemic’s economic riptide, ”Wyden said. “West Coast seafood is prized internationally, and Oregonians in this signature state industry must be able to earn a family wage. These resources will provide a much-needed lifeline so that Oregon’s job-creating fishing and seafood processors can weather this economic storm.”

“Oregon’s fisheries are the lifeblood of our coastal economies—supporting jobs that countless families rely on, and supplying communities across our state and around the world with exceptional products,” said Merkley, who led an April 2020 letter to Senate leadership advocating for $3.5 billion in support for the seafood and fishing industries. “As we set out to recover from the health and economic impacts of the coronavirus crisis, we must ensure that this crucial industry receives the support it needs to survive and bounce back stronger than before. I’m gratified that this fishery assistance funding is coming to our state, and will continue to do all that I can to support our fishermen and seafood processors during, and beyond, this difficult time.”

The allocation of an additional $255 million in fisheries assistance from the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 will support activities previously authorized under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). The resources will be allocated to states and territories with coastal and marine fishery hurt by COVID-19.

The funding will address direct and indirect COVID-19 impacts to eligible fishery participants, including commercial fishermen, charter businesses, qualified aquaculture operations, subsistence, cultural, and ceremonial users, food processors, and other fishery-related businesses. Congress also designated $30 million for all federally recognized Tribes in coastal states. Eligible fishery participants should work with their state or territory’s marine fisheries management agencies to understand the process for applying for these funds.

Maine seafood industry set to receive new $17 million federal bailout

April 1, 2021 — Maine’s seafood industry will get another multimillion-dollar bailout from the federal government almost a year after the first round of pandemic-related federal aid was issued to the battered industry.

The state will receive about $17.1 million of $255 million in federal funding included in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, designed to help the U.S. fishing industry survive, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said this week.

Maine’s award was fifth-highest of 28 states and territories, trailing only Alaska, Washington, Massachusetts and Florida.

It’s still unclear how the funds will be split among the 18,000 licensed fishermen, seafood dealers, processors, aquaculture operators and charter fishing operators that make up Maine’s seafood industry, which, despite the pandemic, last year earned $516.7 million, the ninth-highest total on record.

The state is anticipating additional guidance from NOAA and couldn’t comment further, said Maine Department of Marine Resources spokesperson Jeff Nichols.

Read the full story at the Portland Press Herald

Additional $255 million aid from CARES Act; NMFS extends observer waivers

April 1, 2021 — An additional $255 million in fisheries assistance funding is coming from Congressional CARES Act authorization of last year to help fishermen and related businesses hit by covid-19 income losses, NMFS announced Thursday.

Provided through the Congress’ Consolidated Appropriations Act of 202, the funding will be allocated to states and territories with coastal and marine fishery participants affected by the pandemic.

“Our priority is to award these funds as quickly as possible using existing processes established under the CARES Act,” said Paul Doremus, the acting assistant administrator for NMFS. “As a next step, we will use these allocations to provide additional funds to our partners – the interstate marine fisheries commissions, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands –to disburse funds to address direct or indirect fishery-related losses as well as subsistence, cultural, or ceremonial impacts related to covid-19.”

The commissions then will work with each state and territory to revise their prior spend plans to be consistent with the Consolidated Appropriations Act, the CARES Act, and NOAA’s guidance. Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands will submit spend plans to the agency directly.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

MASSACHUSETTS: Sen. Warren returns to New Bedford, touting $3.9M for waterfront vaccines

April 1, 2021 — U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren made her first visit to New Bedford in more than two years on Wednesday, touring a new federally funded vaccination center and expressing gratitude to essential workers in the food sector.

Warren joined Mayor Jon Mitchell to inspect a waterfront building that the Greater New Bedford Community Health Center is turning into a vaccination site designed to serve employees in the nearby fish processing plants. It will begin offering Johnson & Johnson doses on April 10.

“This center is about protecting our essential workers,” Warren said. “It is about treating our fishermen with respect. It is about treating our food workers with respect.”

The Community Health Center has received a $3.9 million grant under the newly enacted American Rescue Plan Act that will help cover the cost of the vaccination site. The building where the shots will be administered is on Hervey Tichon Avenue, and was recently given to the city by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which had been using it for the Superfund cleanup of New Bedford Harbor.

“This center is a way of saying thank you, and opening up vaccinations so they are here, for the people who have been here for the rest of America over the past year,” Warren said.

Read the full story at WPRI