CARES Act
Current Status
The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) notified the FWC that other states had leftover Consolidate Appropriations Act funds. The FWC was provided additional funds to continue to assist the state’s fishery. Supplemental relief payouts were recently processed and mailed by the ASMFC. Along with the supplemental payout is a non-overpayment assurance page. One requirement of these programs is that no applicant could be “made more than whole,” meaning that their received relief, plus their traditional 2020 fishery revenue, could not exceed their average fishery revenue from years 2015 – 2019. If an applicant was made more than whole, they are required to repay surplus funds. The non-overpayment assurance page allows relief recipients to quickly determine if overpayment has occurred. An example of a completed non-overpayment assurance page can be found .
If you have not received a second, supplemental relief payout by the end of June or have questions about completing the non-overpayment assurance page, please contact the FWC Division of Marine Fisheries Management at 850-487-0554 or CARESAct2020@MyFWC.com. FWC has provided an example of a completed non-overpayment assurance page.
Overview of the CARES Act
On May 7, 2020, the Secretary of Commerce announced the allocation of $300 million in fisheries assistance funding provided by Sec. 12005 of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, ), also called the CARES Act, to states, Tribes, and territories with coastal and marine fishery participants who have been negatively affected by COVID–19.
To allocate the Sec. 12005 funds, NOAA Fisheries used readily available multi-year averages to estimate the total average annual revenues from commercial fishing operations, aquaculture firms, the seafood supply chain (processors, dealers, wholesalers and distributors) and charter fishing businesses from each coastal state, Tribe, and territory. NOAA Fisheries used these allocations to make awards to its partners—the interstate marine fisheries commissions, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands—to disburse funds to address direct or indirect fishery-related losses as well as subsistence, cultural, or ceremonial impacts related to COVID-19.
On December 27, 2020, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 was signed into law. An additional $255 million was allocated for continued economic assistance to Tribal, subsistence, commercial, and charter fishery participants due to the COVID-19 pandemic. FWC has been notified of an allocation of $19,678,229, after removing applicable administrative fees for NOAA Fisheries and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission.
For additional CARES Act information, visit: