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CARES Act

Additional CARES relief update: FWC received an additional $1.9 million for relief for the Florida fishery. If you had previously applied and received relief from the CARES Act in 2020, you would receive an additional relief check. For those who didn’t received funds in 2020, a second application was mailed to you in April 2022. The submission window has closed. FWC submitted payment information to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission in June. If you have not received your relief check, please email CARESAct2020@MyFWC.com with your name and current mailing address.

Current Status

FWC mailed applications for the second CARES Act relief program in late July. The submission deadline was Sept. 11, 2021, followed by a revision deadline of Sept. 28, 2021. Payment information was submitted to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission on Oct. 13, 2021. In total, 1,356 applicants qualified to receive relief.

For questions or concerns, please email CARESAct2020@MyFWC.com or call the FWC Division of Marine Fisheries Management at 850-487-0554.

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: