Oregon’s “Round 2” CARES Act Fisheries Assistance is Now Available
/Oregon residents who fish in Bristol Bay may be eligible for covid aid money.
Oregon’s “Round 2” CARES Act Fisheries Assistance became available on September 1st, 2022. Applications will remain available until 11:59 pm (PST) on October 31st, 2022.
In the first round, the Oregon program required applicants have an Oregon commercial fishing permit thus it was not inclusive of Bristol Bay fishermen who reside in Oregon. BBRSDA brought this exclusion to NOAA & Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s attention and now, round two of the program DOES include OR residents who fish in Alaska.
Eligibility Summary:
To qualify for round two Covid relief funds, an eligible participant’s revenue loss must be greater than 35% in 2020 as compared to the average revenue in the comparable period across the prior five years (2015- 2019). If an applicant does not have 5 years history in operation, it will use available years for comparison. A business must have at least 2019 revenue for comparison.
Oregon residents in the commercial harvesting sector who only participate in out-of-state fisheries were inadvertently excluded from eligibility in Oregon’s Round One spend plan and may include losses within the full period of February 1 – December 31, 2020 or at least 28-consecutive days within this period, in a Round Two application.
Oregon residents who hold an Alaska Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission Non-Resident Commercial Fishery Permit are eligible to apply.
Important Info & Links:
For questions regarding Oregon’s “Round 2” application please write to: ORCares@psmfc.org or dial toll-free (877) 695-3457
Round Two Spend Plan - LINK (Read thoroughly for all eligibility requirements)
OR Fisheries Assistance Application - LINK
Oregon Program Info on Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission (PSMFC) - LINK
CARES Fisheries Assistance programs are also open for other fishermen:
If you are a WA resident, you must apply to WA
If you are an AK resident OR a resident of a state that is not included in this program, you can apply to AK
