February 1, 2019 — The first round of checks were mailed Friday to North Carolina commercial fishermen hit hard by Hurricane Florence, Gov. Roy Cooper’s office announced Friday.
The funds are from the $11.6 million Hurricane Florence Commercial Fishing Assistance Program designed to help make up for losses to the state’s nearly billion-dollar commercial fishing industry due to the storm, according to the governor’s office.
“Hurricane Florence dealt a serious blow to North Carolina’s fishing industry last fall, disrupting fishing and destroying boats and gear for fishermen all along our coast,” Cooper said in a statement. “Getting these funds directly into the hands of commercial fisherman will be a big help as they and their families and communities work to recover.”
Distribution of the money is based on reported commercial fishing landings in September, October and November 2018 as compared to the same months in 2015, 2016 and 2017. The state collects records of all marine fish and shellfish sold at North Carolina docks.