November 20, 2013 — Fishermen and shore-side business owners interested in possible assistance from the U.S. Small Business Administration and the federal Department of Agriculture will have the opportunity to secure more information at a Dec. 2 public forum.
The forum, scheduled to run from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. at NOAA headquarters in Gloucester’s Blackburn Industrial Park, is designed to help potential applicants determine if they are eligible for any of the assistance programs offered by the two federal agencies.
The SBA, at the request of Gov. Deval Patrick and the urging of the Massachusetts congressional delegation, announced on Nov. 1 that Essex County fishermen and those from other Massachusetts and New Hampshire counties now are eligible for direct disaster relief in the form of low-interest loans.
Those loans will represent the first direct federal assistance since the secretary of commerce declared the northeast fishery a disaster in the fall of 2012. The deadline for applying for the loans is Aug. 1, 2014.
According to the SBA, the individual loans are limited to $2 million, and eligibility will be based on credit history, repayment ability and possession of at least $5,000 in collateral.
The loans will carry a maximum interest rate of 4 percent, and repayment terms could extend to 30 years.
Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times