More than $300 million is available in CARES Act (the Federal funding for Coronavirus relief) funding from the U.S. Department of Commerce to aid qualified fisheries and aquaculture impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, with $4,337,445 allocated for eligible Hawai‘i fishery sectors.
The application period opens on Monday, Nov. 2, 2020, and applications must be in by Nov. 23, the Monday before Thanksgiving.
The State Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) Division of Aquatic Resources (DAR) has developed a plan with the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Applications must be submitted to the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission by Nov. 23, 2020. Interested applicants must review the spend plan to determine their eligibility. At a minimum, applicants must be able to claim:
- Economic revenue losses greater than 35% as compared to the prior 5-year* average revenue; or
- any negative impacts to subsistence, cultural, or ceremonial fisheries
*Entities that have been in business less than five years are still eligible for assistance.
Fishery participants eligible for funding include commercial fishing businesses, charter/for-hire fishing businesses, qualified aquaculture operations, wholesale seafood dealers and processors, subsistence/cultural/ceremonial fishers, and other fishery-related businesses.
For questions about eligibility or the application: dlnr.aquatics@hawaii.gov.
To apply: Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission (PSMFC) website: https://www.psmfc.org/cares-act-the-coronavirus-aid-relief-and-economic-security-act.
Game fishing in 2011 was estimated to have contributed $49.2 million to Hawaii’s economy, according to Science Direct.
Photo of a jumping gamefish by the late Jim Rizzuto, who wrote a weekly column about fishing for West Hawaii Today, wrote numerous books about fishing and lures, and was the “go to” guy for information about game fishing until his passing in 2017. Jim was beloved on the Big Island and in the fishing community. Photos used with permission of Jim’s widow, Linda Rizzuto, from the web site https://luremakingkonastyle.com/
Jim Rizzuto:
Jim and Linda Rizzuto:
