The East Side Setnet and Upper Cook Inlet Fisheries will receive $9.4 million in disaster relief funds for declared fisheries disasters in 2018 and 2020, respectively.
The word came from the office of Alaska Congresswoman Mary Peltola last week, when she announced $277 million in disaster relief funding to the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission (PSFMC) via NOAA Fisheries for Alaska Fishery Disasters. The funding will be distributed in partnership between the PSFMC, the State of Alaska, and Tribal leaders.
In April, Peltola penned a letter to U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina M. Raimondo, expressing concerns about the three groups of fishery disaster funds that were stuck at various stages in NOAA and could not proceed due to problems with NOAA’s new accounting software.
“Our fishermen and fishing families have suffered enough the last few years – when disaster strikes, it only sets us back further,” said Rep. Peltola. “This funding is critical in helping our fisheries recover and support the communities all over Alaska, and beyond, that rely on their seafood product output.”
Secretary Raimondo notified Gov. Mike Dunleavy in April that the “National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) evaluated information from the impacted fishery” and that “the requests for a fishery resource disaster meets the requirements under the recently enacted Fishery Resource Disasters Improvement Act.”
According to Raimondo’s letter, the “unexpected biomass decline” caused the fisheries to experience a significant revenue loss.
Of the $9.4 million allocated for the two fisheries, roughly $5.8 million will be designated to harvesters.