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Commercial Fisheries News
Volume 35 Number 11
July 2008
MA groundfish aid application process begins
BOSTON, MA – Following heavy pressure from state government officials and the Massachusetts congressional delegation, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) announced on May 28 that it had approved the “Framework 42, Massachusetts Groundfish Relief” grant proposal as submitted.
The decision frees up $13.4 million in economic assistance for the commonwealth’s struggling commercial groundfish fishermen. State officials anticipate the checks should start going out by the end of August.
“Our groundfishing communities have been hard hit by federal restrictions and this economic relief is deeply needed,” said Gov. Deval Patrick.
The Patrick administration actively supported the quest for federal disaster assistance first taken up by industry and state legislators in February 2007 and then made a reality by the efforts of US Sens. Ted Kennedy (D-MA) and John Kerry (D-MA).
“I thank Sens. Kennedy and Kerry and other members of the congressional delegation for obtaining these funds, and for working with my team to make sure it gets distributed to the people who need it,” Patrick said.
Who’s eligible
People eligible for the groundfish economic assistance program include qualified groundfish permit holders, who will receive direct subsidies of more than $11.3 million, and fishing crew members, who will receive $1.5 million in assistance in the form of heath insurance coverage and mortgage, rent, and/or utility bill payments.
Permit holders will receive assistance checks based on the total number of qualified vessels they own and the number of days-at-sea allocated to each vessel. The state now anticipates awarding approximately $400 for each day-at-sea with payments of up to $36,000 per vessel.
Massachusetts groundfish fishermen who hold only a state permit will receive compensation based on how many people apply. However, the state estimates the awards will be about $7,500 each.
Specifics
The Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF), which is administering the groundfish economic assistance program, created the grant proposal with input from an industry advisory group and from fishermen who attended a number of public meetings.
In a June 9 letter to Massachusetts commercial fish permit holders, DMF explained that the focus of the program is on mitigating the impacts of Framework 42 to the federal groundfish plan.
The groundfish economic assistance money will be distributed as follows:
Federally permitted limited-access commercial vessels with A-days-at-sea – $10,645,000;
Federally permitted limited-access commercial groundfish vessels without A-days-at-sea – a flat-rate subsidy equal to 37.5% of the flat-rate subsidy paid to qualifying nonfederal commercial groundfish fishermen;
Nonfederally state permitted commercial groundfish vessels – $339,750;
Federally permitted for-hire charter and headboat vessels – $339,750; and
Crew members employed aboard eligible commercial fishing vessels – $1,383,816, which will be split between health insurance coverage for fishermen and their family members ($633,816) and direct assistance ($750,000).
The bulk of the remaining money went to NMFS as a standard federal grants administration fee. A smaller amount is being used by DMF to pay the costs of helping fishermen fill out applications, screening applications, making awards, hearing appeals, and auditing the program as required by federal law.
Disqualification
The letter also explained that the groundfish economic assistance program includes an “enforcement disqualification.”
“Applicants eligible for this federal financial assistance are required to be in compliance with applicable federal and state regulations,” DMF stated.
As a result, certain people will not receive assistance. They are:
“Any applicant whose DMF-issued state landing permit or federal multispecies groundfish permit has been suspended by DMF or NMFS respectively for the duration of the application period; and
“Any applicant who is in default of paying a fine imposed by NMFS (for) violation of federal fisheries regulations, or a fine imposed by a state court for violation of state fisheries regulations.”
The applicant will become eligible for assistance if the fine is paid in full during the application period, DMF added.
More info
In addition to the initial June 9 mailing to permit holders, DMF intended to send out an application packet to qualified applicants by June 22. It also will send out a direct mailing to eligible crew members as soon as the necessary information is collected.
Furthermore, DMF plans to post application packets on its web site for anyone who feels they have been left out of the program by mistake.
The DMF web site address is <www.mass.gov/dfwele/dmf>. Click on “Groundfish Assistance Program” in the upper right-hand side of the page under “Spotlight” to view all materials associated with the program.
To connect with a DMF staffer for answers to questions, call (617) 850-2948 or e-mail <marine.fish@state.ma.us>.
For more information on the evolution of the disaster relief program, see Commercial Fisheries News January 2008 and May 2008. /cfn/
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