July 23, 2023 — The U.S. state of New Jersey is considering taking back millions of dollars in Covid-19 relief from commercial fishermen after an audit found multiple issues.
In May 2020, the federal government announced USD 300 million (EUR 270 million) in fisheries assistance funding as part of the CARES Act. New Jersey was awarded USD 11.2 million (EUR 10 million) of that funding and established the Marine Fisheries Assistance Grant Program to distribute the money to fisheries-related businesses that had suffered at least a 35 percent loss in revenue from Covid-19.