May 7, 2020 — The Massachusetts seafood industry is set to receive $28 million of the $300 million in federal fisheries assistance — the highest amount of any state after Alaska and Washington, NOAA Fisheries told federal legislators Thursday in an email obtained by the Gloucester Daily Times.
The federal funds, which were part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security or CARES Act, are to be used to “address direct or indirect fishery-related losses, as well as subsistence, cultural or ceremonial impacts related to COVID-19.”
It remains unclear how the money will be distributed. The announcement also did not include specific eligibility requirements for receiving the assistance.
In general, fishery participants eligible to apply for the funding include tribes, commercial fishing businesses, charter and for-hire fishing businesses, qualified aquacultural operations, processors and other fishery-related businesses.