NOAA allocates $15.8 million in fishery disaster aid to Florida, California and the Makah Tribe

NOAA announced on Oct. 22 that it has allocated $15.8 million in fishery resource disaster funding that Congress appropriated in the American Relief Act, 2025. The money covers disasters that were already declared in Florida, California and for the Makah Tribe in Washington state, all between 2019 and 2024.

The eligible disasters are Florida's Hurricane Ian fishery losses in 2022, the Makah Tribe's ocean treaty troll fishery in 2020 and 2021, the tribe's Fraser River sockeye salmon fisheries in 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2023, and California's red sea urchin fishery in 2023–2024. NOAA Fisheries split the money among them based on commercial revenue losses.

Funds can support commercial and recreational fishermen, for-hire businesses, shoreside infrastructure, subsistence users and the marine environment. Possible uses include direct payments, infrastructure projects, habitat restoration, state-run vessel and permit buybacks and job retraining. Next, NOAA Fisheries will send each recipient a non-competitive Notice of Funding Opportunity letter, and recipients will have 120 days to apply. NOAA says affected fishermen and businesses should work through their state or tribal government.

This is a The Gillnet news desk summary, not a reprint.

Source: NOAA — Commerce Department allocates $15.8M in fishery disaster funding to Fla., Calif., and Makah Tribe (Oct. 22, 2026).