March 31, 2020 — Specific eligibility criteria and distribution details for the $300 million in federal assistance to the U.S. seafood industry probably won’t be available for at least another two weeks, Gloucester Mayor Sefatia Romeo Theken estimated on Monday.
Romeo Theken, who spent much of last weekend on conference calls discussing the economic and health implications of the novel coronavirus pandemic, said she urged state and federal officials to move quickly in getting the money into the hands of fishermen, charter operators, aquaculturists, processors and other shoreside businesses financially wounded by health crisis.
“We’re fighting this invisible war and everyone has to work together or no one is going to survive this” Romeo Theken said. “The plan is very complex and very broad because, unlike previous fishery disaster assistance, this touches everybody in the commercial fishing industry from Alaska to Massachusetts.”
The mayor said she anticipates the federal funds will be distributed by the Commerce Department through NOAA Fisheries to individual regions and states, which then would manage the disbursement of funds to seafood industry stakeholders.