Federal Relief for Fishing Businesses
On March 29, 2021, the Secretary of Commerce announced the allocation of an additional $255 million in fisheries assistance funding provided by the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021. Of this, California has been allocated $15,485,930.
CARES Act Round II funding application opened on October 4th. The deadline for submitting the application is 11:59 p.m. on November 17, 2021.
Details of the program, FAQs, and more (via CDFW website)
Application Form and Spend Plan (via PSFMC website)
For questions, please email CARESfisheriesInfo@wildlife.ca.gov or CACares@psmfc.org or call 1-866-990-2735.
On Dec 27, 2021, a new $900 billion "coronabus" stimulus package was signed to keep businesses and individuals afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic. The bill included a variety of measures, including the following of relevance to seafood businesses:
Fisheries Assistance - $300 Million. This bill provides $300 million in assistance to fisheries participants to help mitigate coronavirus-related economic impacts. The funding will be available for coastal and Great Lakes states and territories through September 30, 2021.
Small Business - $325 Billion. The bill includes critical funding and policy changes to help small businesses, including minority-owned businesses and nonprofits recover from the pandemic. It includes $284 billion for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and extends the PPP through May 31, 2021. The bill also includes $20 billion for EIDL Advance grants.
You can find the full text of the legislation here and a division-by-division summary of COVID-19 relief provisions here.
CARES ACT funding for the Seafood Industry (March 2020)
The March 2020 CARES Act allocated $300 million for U.S. commercial fishery, charterboat, and some aquaculture participants who suffered an economic loss due to COVID-19. On May 7, the Secretary of Commerce announced the state-by-state allocation of this $300 million, which included $18,350,586 for California seafood businesses. On July 22nd, CDFW announced its plan for disbursing the $18 million in CARES Act Relief funding to California's seafood sector. The approved disbursement plan can be found here. Note: The deadline for submitting claim forms was on September 8. Relief checks were issued in the fall and the process is now complete. Read more at: CARES Act Fisheries Relief for California.
Will the fishing industry receive any more funding?
It took a long time to have the “coronabus” bill passed, thanks to the hard work of industry organizations, lobbying groups, and politicians to get more funding for the U.S. seafood industry. Click here for more information.
**CDFW Instructions for updating/verifying your contact info
1. Visit www.ca.wildlifelicense.com/InternetSales/.
2. Click the “Customer Login/Register” tab. (For mobile devices, click the menu icon towards the top left and select “Customer Login/Register.”)
3. Enter the individual’s (or business owner’s, if reviewing a vessel owned by a business) Date of Birth and Last Name and click “Next.”
4. Under “Select Official Document ID Type,” select an appropriate ID registered with the account from the dropdown menu (e.g., GO ID, State ID, Passport, Green Card, Military ID, or Foreign Government ID), enter the requested information, and click “Next.”
5. Verify that your email and mailing address under “Contact Info” is accurate.
Individual Profile Update: If you would like to update the individual customer profile address, click the “Edit Customer Profile” button, update the necessary information, and click “Save.” (For mobile devices, click the menu icon towards the top left, then click “Edit Customer Profile,” update the necessary information, and click “Save.”)
Vessel Profile Update: If you would like to update the vessel profile address, click the “Edit Customer Profile” button, update the necessary information, and click “Save.” (For mobile devices, click the menu icon towards the top left, then click “Edit Customer Profile,” update the necessary information, and click “Save.”) Note: Uncheck the “Use Owner Info” box to update the address.
Business Profile Update: If you would like to update the business customer profile, click the “Edit Customer Profile” button, update the necessary information, and click “Save.” (For mobile devices, click the menu icon towards the top left, then click “Edit Customer Profile,” update the necessary information, and click “Save.”)