WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King announced today that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has awarded $640,000 in federal disaster relief funding to the Maine Department of Marine Resources to help struggling fishermen in Maine. The funding, which is the second of three allocations, is part of a larger, previously announced $32.8 million in assistance.

“Over the past few years, Maine’s fishermen have been hit hard by depleted fish stocks, a changing ocean environment, and complex regulations,” Senators Collins and King said in a joint statement. “This federal funding will provide relief to Maine’s struggling groundfishing industry and allow states to make targeted investments to help the fishery become more sustainable.”

In September 2012, the U.S. Commerce Department declared a disaster in the Northeast groundfishing industry, which opened the door for Congress to appropriate funding to help alleviate the financial hardship caused by dwindling fish stock. In January 2014, with the support of Senators Collins and King, Congress approved the Fiscal Year 2014 federal funding bill that appropriated $75 million for the mitigation of fishery disasters around the country, including $32.8 million for the New England Multispecies Groundfish Fishery disaster.

The grant announced today is from the second third of the available funds.  States are splitting the second third of the total available monies based on an agreed to formula that considers groundfish revenue losses affecting each state in recent years, with a slight adjustment to ensure that no state receives less than $250,000.

According to NOAA, the Maine Department of Marine Resources proposes to administer funds as rebates for landings and/or handling fees paid by Maine groundfish vessels to the dealer at the first point of sale. The funds will be distributed to the Portland Fish Exchange and other eligible federal dealers to be made available for the state’s groundfish sectors and common-pool vessels to draw down as their vessels land.

###