SEABROOK, N.H. (AP) — June 3, 2014 — The five coastal New England states and New York have decided how to divide up most of the $32.8 million they have been promised for communities that have been hard hit by declining fish populations.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which announced the region's total in February, said last week that officials are still deciding how to allocate $11 million in the Northeast to develop a buyout or buyback program, but the states have agreed how to split the rest.
Massachusetts will get $14.5 million, Maine will get $2.3 million and New Hampshire will get $2 million. Rhode Island's share will be $1.9 million, while New York will get $814,000 and Connecticut will get $250,000. Those amounts include both direct assistance of $32,463 for each qualified permit holder and grants allocated to each state based on a formula that considers their groundfish revenue losses.
In September 2012, the U.S. Commerce Department declared a fisheries resource disaster for the Northeast fishery after research showed several key fish stocks, such as cod and flounder, were not rebuilding despite catch limits. The declaration also predicted those species would continue to fall.
While states must get NOAA approval for spending plans, they will have some flexibility, the government said. For example, states could use the money to help recreational fishermen or put it toward shore-based infrastructure.
Read the full story from the Associated Press at the New Bedford Standard-Times