Tag Archives: Coronavirus Aid
Rhode Island Fishermen Eligible to Apply For $255 Million in Coronavirus Relief Funds
The Rhode Island Congressional Delegation and the Department of Environmental Management (DEM) today announce that commercial fishing and charter/for hire businesses, qualified aquaculture operators, seafood processors, and dealers are eligible to apply for an additional $255 million in assistance funding provided by the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021. The funding will support activities previously authorized under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. >click to read< 21:37
New York: $6.7 million in Coronavirus relief to marine fishing industries
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced $6.7 million in relief aid is being distributed starting today to New York’s seafood, marine commercial, and for-hire fishing industries after excessive business losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic. New York State will distribute an additional $5.7 million in the coming months, for a total of $12.4 million, through the Marine Fisheries Relief Program, which administers federal funding provided by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act. >click to read< From ny.gov, >click to read< 11:40
Maine lobstermen prepare for uncertain summer season, hoping for further federal relief
More than 1,300 lobstermen in Maine – about 1 in 3 – received forgivable loans through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), with the majority amounting to roughly $10,900.,, New data from the U.S. Small Business Administration shows that altogether, Maine’s lobster industry received roughly $24 million in PPP funding, the most given to any business concern in the state; dine-in restaurants, beauty salons, real estate, and home building received the next highest amounts. While the bulk of the fishing sector money – nearly $15 million – went to fishermen, some dealers, retailers and processors received loans between $150,000 and $1 million. >click to read< 17:49
Fighting for fishermen on a bi-partisan, bi-coastal basis during Coronavirus crisis – Senator Ed Markey
Restaurants have shuttered and large export markets have been disrupted. Fishermen have lost access to critical points of sale and sources of income. With a decreased demand for fresh seafood, many boats sit idle in port. Meanwhile, boat payments are due and families need to be fed. In the U.S. Senate, I have been fighting on a bipartisan basis alongside Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Alaska senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan to secure dedicated economic assistance for the fishing and seafood industries in COVID-19 economic relief packages. Thankfully, this bi-coastal effort got results. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, enacted into law on March 27, included $300 million in assistance for fishery participants and $9.5 billion for affected agricultural producers. >click to read< 12:22
Commercial Fisheries and Fishermen Can Apply for CARES Relief But Not Yet
On May 7, the Secretary of Commerce announced the allocation of $300 million in fisheries assistance funding provided to states, tribes, and territories with coastal and marine fishery participants who have been negatively affected by COVID-19. As a next step, the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration will use these allocations to make awards to its 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. But relief may take some time. No funds have yet been made available to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission or states. The N.J. Department of Environmental Protection staff is working diligently to develop a spending plan and application process that must be approved by NOAA. >click to read< 11:07
Ireland: Warning fishing industry is on brink of collapse due to lack of Coronavirus support
Ireland’s €1.2 billion fishing industry is on the brink of collapse, according to industry representatives who say it has been decimated by the collapse in domestic and EU markets since the start of the Covid-19 crisis. But they also say the government’s lack of appropriate help could prove to be the final nail in the coffin. The representatives point to the fact that Agriculture Minister Michael Creed recently announced more money for harbour repairs than for packages to help fishermen and women. They also say a scheme he announced last week to help pay the costs of boats that can’t fish because of the crisis is “not fit for purpose”. >click to read< 10:25
Fish Harvesters Benefit: Feds pledge nearly $470m to fish harvesters – Trudeau urges consumers to ‘buy Canadian’
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Thursday (May 14) the launch of the Fish Harvesters Benefit. The new initiative is aimed at harvesters facing a 25% drop in income in the face of the pandemic, covering up to 75% of losses up to a maximum of $10,000. Additional non-repayable grants for fish harvesters who own their own business are also being made available. The prime minister said changes would be made for Employment Insurance claims in 2021, allowing benefits to be based on income from previous years. >click to read< 16:22
Trudeau urges consumers to ‘buy Canadian’ as government pledges $470M for fisheries – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is urging people to “buy 
Canadian” food to keep fishery workers and farmers in business during the novel coronavirus pandemic. “To everyone who wants to show their support, buy Canadian. Pick up some Canadian cheese to help a local dairy farmer, have a ‘fish fry, or buy Canadian lobster,” he said today during his daily press conference. “Not only will it taste great, it will help the people who keep food on our plates.” >click to read<
CARES Act – Paycheck Protection Program: Small businesses in Provincetown, on Cape Cod report mixed emergency loan success
After the program received more than 220,000 applications for $66 billion in loans since it opened last Friday, according to the Wall Street Journal, lawmakers are working on adding money with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin asking for $250 billion more.,, “I think the delay is the sheer volume of people applying,” said Chatham commercial fisherman Shannon Eldredge, who works as a navigator for the Massachusetts Fishing Partnership, which assists fishermen and their families with health care and financial help. “I’m hearing it’s going to take longer than anticipated.” Still, she said her organization and clients were pleased that the SBA was answering phones and questions and providing updates on the status of individual applications. >click to read< 11:06
