Today, the Secretary of Commerce announced the allocation of $300 million in fisheries assistance funding provided by Sec. 12005 of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, also called the CARES Act, to states, Tribes, and territories with coastal and marine fishery participants who have been negatively affected by COVID–19.
As a next step, NOAA Fisheries will use these allocations to make awards 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.
Fishery participants eligible for funding—including Tribes, commercial fishing businesses, charter/for-hire fishing businesses, qualified aquaculture operations, processors, and other fishery-related businesses—should work with their state marine fisheries management agencies, territories, or Tribe to understand the process for applying for these funds.
Today, the President signed a new Executive Order Promoting American Seafood Competitiveness and Economic Growth. This Executive Order will propel the United States forward as a seafood superpower by strengthening the American economy; improving the competitiveness of American industry; ensuring food security; providing environmentally safe and sustainable seafood; supporting American workers; and ensuring coordinated and transparent Federal actions.
Specifically, the Executive Order calls for the expansion of sustainable U.S. seafood production through more efficient and predictable aquaculture permitting, cutting-edge research and development, regulatory reform to maximize commercial fishing, and enforcement of common-sense restrictions on seafood imports that do not meet American standards.
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