Groundfishing Industry to Receive More Than $32 Million in Disaster Assistance

Press Release

U.S. Senator Susan Collins today announced that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) will award $32.8 million in federal funding for the mitigation of the 2013 New England Multispecies Groundfish Fishery disaster that was declared by the Secretary of Commerce. This funding will help aid struggling ground fishermen in the Northeast, including Maine. In addition, the Secretary of Commerce will waive the 25-percent non-federal match requirement as requested by Senator Collins and Senator Angus King in a letter sent earlier this month.

"Fishing is a way of life in Maine and New England and, for too long, our fishermen, their families, and their communities, have struggled with onerous federal regulations and other burdensome costs," said Senator Collins, a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee. "I was pleased to have secured Fisheries Disaster Assistance in the federal funding bill approved by Congress in January which can be used to provide both immediate economic relief to our region's struggling groundfishing industry, and to make targeted investments that will allow the fleet to survive and become more sustainable in the years ahead. I also applaud the decision to waive the non-federal matching requirement which would have placed an unnecessary burden on our state and local economies."

In September 2012, the U.S. Commerce Department declared a disaster in the Northeast groundfishing industry. This declaration opened the door for Congress to appropriate funding to help alleviate the financial hardship caused by dwindling fish stock. In January, with Senator Collins' support, Congress approved the Fiscal Year 2014 federal funding bill that appropriated $75 million for the mitigation of fishery disasters.

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