December 3, 2020 — In May 2020 Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross announced the allocation of $300 million in fisheries assistance funding provided by Sec. 12005 of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, also known as the CARES Act. We’re less a month away from 2021 … so the funds have all been dispersed, right? Not quite. According to a recent report released by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), as of October 23, only about $16.5 million of the $300 million has been disbursed.
The CARES Act authorizes the Department of Commerce to provide assistance to eligible tribal, subsistence, commercial and charter fishery participants who have been affected by COVID-19. NOAA turned to their partners—the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission, and the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission—to disburse the funds. However, before they could begin the payouts, the commissions had to work with the states, tribes and territories to develop spend plans for NOAA’s approval.