Great Lakes Fisheries Relief Program
COVID-19 Relief for New York State's Great Lakes For-Hire and Commercial Fishing Industries
The application period has closed and distribution of direct payments to qualifying applicants has been completed for 2022. Additional information will be posted on this page in the near future. For more information or assistance, email dec.sm.fwcares@dec.ny.gov or call (315) 654-2147.
The Consolidated Appropriations Act (P.L. 116-260) was signed into law on December 27, 2020, to "prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus, domestically or internationally." Division M of the Consolidated Appropriations Act (Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2021) authorized $300 million in fisheries assistance funding, which supports activities previously supported under Section 12005 of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act).
On June 19, 2021, NOAA Fisheries announced the allocation of an additional $15 million in fisheries assistance funding to Great Lakes states with coastal fisheries participants. The New York Great Lakes Fisheries Relief Program Spend Plan (PDF) establishes a framework for distributing $1.97 million in federal Consolidated Appropriations Act (CARES Act II) fisheries aid to for-hire (charter) and commercial fishing businesses in operation on New York's Great Lakes waters.
