November 12, 2018 — Gov. Roy Cooper has requested help from the federal government to assist state fisheries hit by Hurricane Florence, and some local fishermen and seafood dealers are pleased with his actions.
According to a Nov. 2 press release from the governor’s office, Gov. Cooper has urged the U.S. Department of Commerce to help provide additional resources and funding to help North Carolina fisheries affected by Florence. This request follows a $1.6 million appropriation in September by the state, in response to a recommendation from Gov. Cooper to appropriate $12 million, which the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries will use to compensate fishermen and shellfish harvesters for equipment and income loss.
In Beaufort, Cannon Seafood owner and operator Gary Cannon was pleased with the governor’s efforts to help restore the fisheries.
“There’s a lot of fishermen that have been put out of business by the storm,” he said. “We were put out of work two to three weeks.”
Mr. Cannon said his seafood dealership got four feet of water in its buildings, and he lost $30,000 in fishing gear.
What makes losses like this especially difficult for commercial fishermen is that they can’t get insurance for it.
“Farmers have crop insurance,” Mr. Cannon said, “but fishermen don’t have anything like that.”
Insurance for lost gear and income seems to be a significant concern for commercial fishermen.