July 21, 2021 — The Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries mailed applications to seafood processers, wholesalers, commercial fishermen and aquaculture farmers on Tuesday — officially opening the state’s second round of CARES Act relief for fisheries.
The funds are intended to mitigate the financial impacts on marine fisheries participants that suffered more than a 35% loss of revenue due to the pandemic.
“Things are definitely recovering, we’re seeing high prices for many shellfish species, finfish, lobster, scallops,” said DMF Director Daniel McKiernan. “There’s a lot of demand for seafood right now so 2021 is looking like a really great year for the industry, but there’s still deficits from what happened last year that these funds will help mitigate.”
This may be the last chance for fisheries to get major COVID-19 relief funds. McKiernan said he wasn’t aware of any state or federal relief planned beyond this round.