May 30, 2014 — The state fishery directors from Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut and New York, in partnership with NOAA, announced a proposed framework for the distribution of USD 32.8 million in federal disaster monies to the New England groundfish industry.
These funds are a portion of the USD 75 million allocated by US Congress as part of its Fiscal 2014 budget to help with six declared fishery disasters. In 2012, the Secretary of Commerce declared one of these fishery disasters to be the result of significant quota cuts anticipated for key New England groundfish stocks in the 2013 fishing year. Under federal fisheries law, the Commerce Secretary can declare a fishery disaster, which makes it possible for Congress to allocate funds to provide economic assistance to fishing businesses and communities, including fishermen, affected by a disaster and to support other activities addressing the disaster.
In the consensus framework for the groundfish fishery, the six states would apportion available monies between three themes (roughly USD 11 million in each): one-third to be used for direct assistance, one-third to be split among the states and used at their discretion, and one-third to be used in developing a federally funded buyout or industry-funded buyback.