September 23, 2024 — The Biden administration has released $277 million in fishery disaster aid to Alaska that was held up for years by a problem-plagued software update at NOAA.
The release of long-awaited disaster assistance dollars will help communities affected by 10 disasters that contributed to the collapse of critical commercial species, including cod, crab and salmon that drive the state’s multibillion-dollar fisheries economy.
Half of those disasters — including sharp declines in Copper River and Prince William Sound salmon dating to 2018 — preceded the Biden administration and were to be paid with funds already appropriated by Congress.