January 7, 2025 — In one of his last acts as president, U.S. President Joe Biden has signed legislation designed to speed up the delivery of fishery disaster relief funding to fishers.
The legislation was spurred on by growing frustration among lawmakers over how long it takes the U.S. Department of Commerce to certify fishery disasters took place and approve state and Tribal spending plans to distribute federally funded financial relief to affected fishers and affiliated businesses. Often, years will pass between the initial request for a fishery disaster determination and checks being delivered to struggling fishers.