Economic Relief Programs

NC Consolidated Appropriations Act Fishery Relief Program (CARES Act II)

More than $4.4 million in financial assistance is now available via the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 (CARES Act II) to eligible fisheries participants of North Carolina who sustained income losses in 2020 due to COVID-19. Applications were mailed to licensed participants on August 13, 2021. The application documents (application, affidavit, W-9) can be found below.

The application period for CARES Act II opens on August 16, 2021 and closes on October 1, 2021 at 5 p.m. Applications and supporting documentation must be delivered in person to the division Headquarters Office at 3441 Arendell St., Morehead City or mailed to the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries, CARES Act Fisheries Relief Program, P.O. Box 769, Morehead City N.C. 28557. Applications and supporting documentation will not be accepted at other division offices. Applications and supporting documentation that are submitted after 5 p.m. on October 1, 2021 will not be considered.

For questions about this relief, email covid19relief@ncdenr.gov.

Application and Supplemental Forms

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NC CARES Act Fishery Relief Program

More than $5.2 million in financial assistance is on its way to eligible members of the fishing industries who sustained income losses in the spring of 2020 due to COVID-19.

The N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries issued funds this week to 197 commercial fishermen and marine aquaculture operations, for-hire fishing operations, and seafood dealers and processors deemed eligible for assistance from the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act Fisheries Relief Program. Payments were made in the following categories:

An additional $161,287 went toward Division of Marine Fisheries administrative costs. Click here to read more. 

Application and Supplemental Forms

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Hurricane Florence Federal Fishery Disaster Assistance

The N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries was notified in March 2020 that it is eligible to receive $7.7 million in federal fishery disaster assistance after NOAA Fisheries approves the spending plan developed by the state.

The draft spending plan was submitted to NOAA in the summer of 2020, and the division anticipates that NOAA Fisheries will approve it sometime in 2021. As of June 2021, the division is still awaiting approval from NOAA.

The draft spending plan proposes disbursement of the funding through direct payments to affected seafood dealers and processors, bait and tackle shops, for-hire businesses, and ocean fishing piers that can document lost revenue or damages due to Hurricane Florence. These stakeholders were not compensated by earlier state-funded payments to commercial fishermen and shellfish harvesters.

Hurricane Florence hit the North Carolina coast in September 2018, dropping nearly three feet of rain over a four-day period and causing widespread flooding that disrupted fishing and destroyed boats, gear, and buildings critical to fishing businesses. In a 2019 Hurricane Florence Fisheries Damage Assessment report, NOAA Fisheries estimated $38 million in damages to vessels and business, $56.5 million in lost revenues, and 3,500 fishing-related job losses.