November 5, 2013 — Since May 1 – the dawn of the new commercial season — the dire catch limits clamped on Gulf of Maine cod and other species by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has turned the spotlight on the industry’s increasingly urgent need.
That’s some type of financial aid package addressing what had been recognized by the Department of Commerce as a legitimate “economic disaster,” for which Congressman John Tierney and other federal lawmakers had sought to provide relief for months.
In recent weeks, some signs of that potential aid have surfaced.
First came a pool of up to $10 million in NOAA money through the Saltonstall-Kennedy Act. Yes, that’s just a tenth of what the 1954 act meant to provide when it was designed to steer 30 percent of all imported seafood tariff money toward marketing the domestic fishing industry and funding improvements for it. But the $10 million has spurred a rash of applications, including a total of seven from Gloucester alone.