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Commercial Fisheries News
Volume 35 Number 9
May 2008
MA proposes groundfish aid for owners, crew
BOSTON, MA – After hearing from fishermen during meetings in Gloucester, Plymouth, and New Bedford, the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) finalized its proposal for distributing $13.395 million in groundfish assistance funds appropriated for Bay State fishermen by Congress.
The proposal DMF submitted to the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) in mid-April contains no pounds-landed requirement for vessels with federal days-at-sea allocations and sets up a second tier of qualified applicants in what DMF calls a “Federal Limited-Access Non-Days-at-Sea Program.”
The final application also includes compensation for owners of state-waters-only groundfish vessels and for-hire groundfish vessels, and provides economic relief for crew members.
Although Congress clearly indicated that the money was meant to help Massachusetts fishermen impacted by Framework 42 to the federal groundfish plan, the funds are under the control of NMFS. So DMF had to create a spending plan in the form of a grant proposal and submit it for NMFS approval.
No buyout
Earlier this year, NMFS sent a letter to state officials directing them to use the bulk of the federal aid money to buy out fishing operations to reduce the size of the fleet or risk a delay in the release of the money.
However, the DMF spending proposal does not include a buyout program.
At press time in late April, there were media reports circulating that NMFS had agreed to the DMF proposal as submitted. However, NMFS spokesman Teri Frady would only confirm that the proposal was under review.
“The state’s grant application was received in the Northeast regional office on April 16. It is being processed as submitted, technical review is underway, and it is being moved through the (NMFS) grant process as expeditiously as possible,” she said.
DMF is proposing to distribute $11,325,000 of the funds as direct economic relief.
Of that amount, $10,645,500 would be distributed to permit holders based on their A-days-at-sea.
In general terms, an applicant must be the owner of a vessel with a federal limited-access multispecies groundfish permit that had been allocated A-days as of May 1, 2007. The applicant also must be the permit holder of record as of March 15, 2008 and must have held a 2007 Massachusetts boat (landing) permit identifying a homeport within the state.
Once all the qualified applicants are identified, DMF will determine the percentage of allocated A-days that each applicant’s permit represents and divvy up the funds accordingly. DMF expects that each A-day will end up being worth about $500.
There are exceptions to this formula and limits on the amount of direct subsidies an individual who owns multiple boats can receive.
Other groups
Three other groups of fishermen are eligible to receive direct subsidies if they meet permit and landing requirements spelled out in the proposal. The groups are as follows.
State-waters-only permit holders, $339,750 – Qualified applicants will be compensated using a flat rate, which will be determined by dividing $339,750 by the number of qualified applicants.
For-hire groundfish permit holders, $339,750 – DMF will calculate each qualified applicant’s portion of total trips among all eligible permit holders and apply that percentage to the $339,750 to determine payment.
Federal limited-access, non-days-at-sea vessels, dollar amount to be determined – Qualified applicants will receive a flat-rate subsidy that is 37.5% of that paid to state-waters-only fishermen. The percentage is based on the difference in the cod trip limit between the two groups: 300 pounds vs. 800 pounds.
Crew compensation
DMF also is proposing to direct $1,250,000 for economic relief for crewmembers. Of that, $500,000 will go to help pay for insurance premiums through the Fishing Partnership Health Plan.
The remaining $750,000 will go to Shore Support, a New Bedford-based fishermen’s advocacy group that operates the Fishermen’s Relief Fund.
The fund is used to help families of fishermen lost at sea, fishermen injured on the job, and fishermen struggling to make ends meet due to restrictive regulations.
According to Shore Support Executive Director Deb Shrader, the organization pays “sustaining expenses” such as rent or mortgage or utilities directly to landlords, banks, and companies.
Administration
Finally, DMF will keep $338,249, or about 2.5%, of the total funds to pay for hiring extra staff to help fishermen fill out applications, determine which applicants qualify, disburse the funds, write required reports, and conduct mandated audits.
Noting that the qualifying process will take some time, DMF doesn’t expect to actually start cutting checks until late summer.
NMFS is taking $481,751 or about 3.7% of the funds as a standard federal grant administration fee and to make a contribution to the Hollings Undergraduate Scholarship Program, as is customary with all congressional appropriations to the agency, according to Frady.
“If the state program is put in place as proposed, the funds (minus the scholarship contribution) will be used to cover (NMFS) expenses associated with processing and monitoring the project and for expenses related to Northeast groundfish management and rebuilding, which benefit the industry as a whole,” she said.
For more information on the DMF Groundfish Assistance Program, visit the agency’s web site at <www.mass.gov/dfwele/dmf> or call DMF at (617) 626-1520.
Lorelei Stevens
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