$3.6 Million in Grants Available for Superstorm Sandy Relief to Fishing Industry

There are $3.6 million in grants are available to businesses in New York’s fishing industry affected by the impacts of Superstorm Sandy, New York State Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr. of Sag Harbor has announced. Funded through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the grants will reimburse sectors of New York’s fishing industry that suffered a loss of revenue due to the storm.

The Department of Environmental Conservation, in collaboration with the Governor’s Office of Storm Recovery, will administer the Superstorm Sandy Fishery Disaster Relief Program. Businesses in Suffolk, Nassau, Bronx, Kings,  New York, Queens, Richmond, Rockland and Westchester counties are eligible to apply.

The DEC will accept applications through December 15. Eligible applicants include businesses in the following sectors: bait and tackle; for-hire fishing boat operators; marinas; commercial harvesters; commercial seafood dealers, shippers or processors; and aquaculture facilities.

Fishing businesses in eligible counties must complete an application and provide documentation to demonstrate more than $5,000 in revenue or gross income loss as a result of Superstorm Sandy, and have at least $15,000 in annual earnings in one of the eligible fishery sectors.

Applicants can apply online at https://apps.cio.ny.gov/apps/cfa/. Several public information meetings to explain the grant program and to provide application assistance will be held in Long Island, New York City and the lower Hudson Valley. More information can be found at http://www.dec.ny.gov/pubs/102594.html. For additional information, applicants can also contact the DEC at 518-402-8044 or FisheryGrant@dec.ny.gov, or the Governor’s Office of Storm Recovery at 1-855-NYS-SANDY (1-855-697-7263) or info@stormrecovery.ny.gov.