Congress authorized a $300 million federal fisheries disaster relief package through the 2020 CARES Act. Eligible fisheries participants include commercial and charter fishing sectors, aquaculture businesses, tribes and processing/seafood sectors. Washington and Alaska each received $50 million and authorized direct payments to eligible fisheries participants. The Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission (PSMFC) will review applications and distribute funds.
Applications are now available for Washington’s and Alaska’s fisheries disaster relief allocations. Washington residents who fish in Alaska must apply for relief under the Washington spend plan. The 45-day application period for Washington residents will end on March 25, 2021. Applications for funds distributed from Alaska’s allocation will be available on the PSMFC website on March 1, 2021. A 54-day application period will end April 23, 2021. Alaska expects that the PSFMC will disburse funds in June 2021 after an application review period.
Alaska’s spend plan excludes Alaska fishermen who are residents of a coastal fishing state that received CARES Act federal fisheries disaster relief. Residents of Idaho, Arizona or Michigan who otherwise meet eligibility requirements for the commercial fishing sector may apply for a share of Alaska’s allocation. Residents of Washington, Oregon or Massachusetts must apply in their home state.
In general, eligible commercial fishermen in Washington and Alaska must hold qualifying state or federal fishing, or vessel license permits, be active operators and have experienced a greater than 35% loss in gross fishery revenue during a specified period of time in 2020 as a direct or indirect result of COVID-19 relative to average gross fishing revenue the past five years (2015-2019). Each state’s spend plan provides different ways for applicants who did not fish all five years to calculate losses. ALFA’s website provides additional information regarding other criteria, applicable time periods, document and record retention requirements.
Payment amounts for the Alaska allocation are unknown until all applications are received and the total number of shares counted. Each sector will have its allocation divided by the total number of shares which will then become the base share value. For Alaska’s $17.3 commercial harvester allocation, there will be one share per eligible permit or license. There are 10,520 Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission (CFEC) permits, 732 CFEC vessel permits and 5,301 federal permits. If all 16,552 permits and vessel licenses were eligible, the base share would be $1,043. For example, an applicant who owned a vessel, a salmon permit and halibut IFQ would receive $3,129. There are 5,790 potentially eligible charter sector shares, with a base value of $2,301 per share and 1,150 potentially eligible processor shares with a base value of $13,729. ADF&G divided processors into seven revenue tiers, with lower earners ($30,000 - $75,000) receiving one share and the largest processors (>$50 million) receiving 7 shares.
Washington’s approved spend plan also authorizes direct payments to fishery participants. There is one pool for the $38.5 million allocated to non-tribal commercial fishing, shellfish aquaculture, seafood processing and charter industry participants. Washington anticipates claims from fishery and seafood related businesses that range from small sole proprietorships to large corporations. Because of this variability, direct payment amounts are uncertain. Washington expects claimed losses to exceed funds and provides mechanisms that proportionally reduce payments to ensure distribution across the range of eligible applicants. In the event of a surplus, a second application period will open.
Washington’s plan sets a qualifying period for losses between January 1 and July 31, 2020, whether for the full seven months or any partial consecutive period of four weeks or more. Applicants must self-certify a 35 percent gross revenue loss caused by as a direct or indirect result of COVID-19 for their fishery business in 2020 compared to average revenue for the same time frame from 2015-2019. The spend plan provides several options for fishermen without the full five-year fishing history to calculate their revenue losses. Washington residents who commercial fish in Alaska are eligible to apply under some circumstances if they have a qualifying state of Alaska fishing permit, vessel license or federal permit such as IFQ for halibut, sablefish or crab.
The PSMFC recommends that all applicants review state spend plans before filling out the application. A significant number of Alaska commercial fishing vessels will fall under the seafood processor category under Alaska’s spend plan. The seafood processing sector includes numerous commercial fishing vessels with processing permits that freeze fish at sea, participate in dive fisheries or direct market their catch or in some cases tender vessels. Fishermen who fall in one of these categories in particular should review Alaska’s spend plan carefully because there are distinct eligibility and residency criteria for this sector.
There are links to many of the materials on ALFA’s COVID-19 page and the PSMFC’s website, which includes links to approved spend plans, active applications and agency contact information is available here: https://www.psmfc.org/cares-act-the-coronavirus-aid-relief-and-economic-security-act
ALFA is providing overviews of relief programs as general information for commercial fishermen. This information is not legal or financial advice. ALFA urges individuals interested in these programs to contact their banker, attorney, accountant or the PSMFC for specific advice regarding eligibility for their particular situation.