Alaska Congressional Delegation Welcome Disaster Relief for Alaska Fisheries
$34.7 Million for Fisherman & Stakeholders Affected by Fishery Disasters
U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski, Dan Sullivan, and Congressman Don Young, (all R-Alaska), today welcomed an announcement by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) that the agency approved $24.4 million to restore losses for Alaska fisheries impacted by the 2018 Pacific cod fishery disaster and $10.3 million for the 2018 sockeye salmon failure in Chignik. The NOAA-approved funds will now be administered by the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission, the agency tasked with distributing the relief payments to fishermen and their deckhands, processors, and for fishery research in the affected regions.
“Alaska’s fisheries are vital to our state, coastal communities, and families. By restoring these losses, our federal government is following through not only on the commitment we made to Alaska’s commercial fisherman, but also to their families, processors, and coastal communities who were hit hard by these disasters. The economic impact for fisherman and their communities could have been detrimental. This economic relief will go a long way,” said the Alaska Congressional Delegation. “We thank NOAA for their efforts and encourage them to continue their work in support of Alaska’s fisheries, especially through robust surveys and scientific efforts that can inform the drivers of these and other resource fluctuations.”
Background: The Secretary of Commerce first declared the fishery disasters, followed by Congress then appropriating funding for these and other fishery disasters through the 2019 Consolidated and Supplemental Appropriations Act.
