April 1, 2021 — Maine’s seafood industry will get another multimillion-dollar bailout from the federal government almost a year after the first round of pandemic-related federal aid was issued to the battered industry.
The state will receive about $17.1 million of $255 million in federal funding included in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, designed to help the U.S. fishing industry survive, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said this week.
Maine’s award was fifth-highest of 28 states and territories, trailing only Alaska, Washington, Massachusetts and Florida.
It’s still unclear how the funds will be split among the 18,000 licensed fishermen, seafood dealers, processors, aquaculture operators and charter fishing operators that make up Maine’s seafood industry, which, despite the pandemic, last year earned $516.7 million, the ninth-highest total on record.
The state is anticipating additional guidance from NOAA and couldn’t comment further, said Maine Department of Marine Resources spokesperson Jeff Nichols.