NOAA grants Alaskan Fisheries $24.4 million in disaster relief funding

It’s a needed addition to funding Alaska’s fisheries.

Thursday the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), approved a $24.4 million dollar disaster relief package to help restore the loss of fisheries impacted by the 2018 pacific cod fishery disaster and sockeye salmon failure in Chignik.

The money will be administered by the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission who will distribute the relief payments to fishermen and their deckhands, processors, and fishery research in the affected regions.

Alaska’s Washington delegation applauded the announcement saying in a release “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 on the fisherman and their communities could have been detrimental. This economic relief will go a long way.”

There is currently no plan on when the funding will be distributed.