October 2, 2015 — More than $1 million in federal funding has been released to help struggling New Hampshire fishermen and fishing communities.
The money released from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will assist the commercial ground-fishing industry and for-hire fishing vessels. It is in addition to the more than $2 million in fishery disaster funds that have been released to New Hampshire in the past two years.
September 5, 2015 — The state Division of Marine Fisheries listened to those who wanted a wider distribution of $6.7 million in federal fisheries disaster money. At a meeting of the groundfish disaster aid working group in New Bedford on Friday, the agency laid out a plan where more than $6 million of the money would be used in direct aid to fishermen.
While an earlier proposal set a fairly high bar of 20,000 pounds of groundfish landings in any year from 2012 to 2014 to qualify for aid, the new plan would require 10,000 pounds of groundfish or have at least one trip in 2014 on which a vessel carried an observer.
Groundfish once were the bread and butter of New England fishermen, and include bottom-feeding species such as cod, haddock and flounders.
According to DMF analysis, 138 vessels would have qualified under the 20,000-pound criteria and 164 can receive aid under the reduced landings or observed trip scenarios. Only 10 of the 24 vessels in the Chatham-based Georges Bank Fixed Gear Sector would have qualified under the higher amount and 18 now qualify under the new plan. Claire Fitz-Gerald, manager of the sector, believes this number is closer to 22 or 23 based on her own calculations.
Read the full story from the Cape Cod Times
Read Rep. William Straus’ letter to Massachusetts Gov. Charles Baker
July 16, 2015 — The Christie Administration announced that 266 fishing-related businesses will share more than $2.1 million in federal grants to help them recover some costs resulting from damages sustained as a result of Superstorm Sandy.
The grant program focused on helping smaller businesses. Owners of bait-and-tackle shops, commercial dealers, commercial fishermen, for-hire party and charter boat operators, marinas and those involved in shell-fish aquaculture businesses were eligible to apply to the DEP for grants of up to $10,000 to help offset some of the costs of the storm on their operations.
“The DEP and our Marine Fisheries staff have worked tirelessly since Sandy to help these businesses get back on their feet,” said DEP Commissioner Bob Martin. “Our economically vital commercial and recreational fishing industries are coming back after the devastation caused by Sandy. This grant program will help our smaller fishing-related businesses recover some of their losses.”
Grants were provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) as part of a federal fishery disaster declaration for states impacted by Sandy.
Applicants had to document a minimum of $5,000 in losses as a result of Sandy. Grants were awarded to help with repair or replacement of equipment that was not covered by other programs. Activities already paid for out-of-pocket as part of a business’ or individual’s recovery effort also were eligible.
Read the full story at the Cape May County Herald
July 13, 2015 — The state will distribute about $3 million in federal fishery disaster aid to 525 eligible Massachusetts-based crew members, dock workers and owner-operators, including 136 from Gloucester and 15 from other towns on Cape Ann, according to the state Division of Marine Fisheries.
Peter Lorenz, DMF spokesman, said letters went out June 30 to 601 Massachusetts-based crew members who applied for the funds, informing them of their status.
Lorenz said 76 applicants were not qualified for any payments.
The payments for eligible years range from $1,209 per year to $10,080 per year, with 68 successful applicants to receive $8,064 per eligible year while 120 successful applicants maxed out at $10,080 per eligible year.
Lorenz said the qualified recipients, including the 151 from Cape Ann, must fill out state-vendor forms. Once the forms are approved, the agency will begin scheduling payments — which will go out weekly on Fridays.
The $3 million earmarked for crew members, dock workers and some owner-operators is part of the $8.3 million initially contained in the second phase of the $75 million in federal fishing disaster funding approved by Congress in January 2014.
The four coastal New England states, as well as New York and New Jersey, received about $33 million of the total $75 million, with Massachusetts’ share amounting to about $14.8 million.
The first phase of funding funneled $6.5 million to more than 200 eligible federal limited permit holders in the form of checks of $32,500 per eligible permit.
Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times
June 23, 2015 — The following is an excerpt from an editorial published in the Gloucester Daily Times:
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has in recent weeks been casting about for a pool of money to tap for its controversial onboard fishing vessel monitoring program. Efforts to make fishermen pay directly for the program – yet another unfunded federal mandate – have so far fallen short.
Not to be deterred, however, NOAA administrators have come up with an even more disturbing idea – take the money from the emergency funds the government set aside for fishermen.
On Friday, NOAA Regional Administrator John K. Bullard said the $2.5 million needed to pay for at-sea monitoring for the rest of this fishing season could come from yet-to-be-delivered federal fishery disaster aid.
“The states sill have about $10 million in the ‘third bin,'” Bullard said. “(Monitoring) would be an eligible use of those funds.”
We’re sorry, Mr. Bullard. That money is already spoken for.
The so-called “third bin” of the roughly $33 million allocated to the five coast New England states and New York last year is set aside for a permit buyback and boat buyout program that would allow fishermen to leave the industry without facing total financial ruin.
That plan has been delayed by squabbling over how to develop a system that would fairly split the money among the states. The extended bureaucratic wrangling has raised the possibility the $10 million could be spent elsewhere, and it prompted NOAA’s leaders to suggest they get a cut.
Read the full editorial at the Gloucester Daily Times