The Department of Environmental Protection’s Division of Fish and Wildlife is announcing the availability of Fisheries Disaster Direct Assistance Grants for individuals and businesses in New Jersey’s fishing industries that have documented uninsured losses as a result of Superstorm Sandy. Approximately $2.1 million in federal funding has been approved by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for New Jersey as part of a federal fishery disaster that was determined by the U.S. Department of Commerce for the states of New Jersey and New York.
Expression of Interest pre-applications are being accepted beginning October 1, 2014 until October 31, 2014 from individuals and/or businesses in six fishing-related sectors: bait and tackle shops, commercial dealers, commercial fishermen, for-hire (party and charter) operations, marinas and shellfish/aquaculture.
The Expression of Interest pre-application is only available on-line and can be accessed from the Division of Fish and Wildlife’s Fisheries Disaster webpage.
No applications will be accepted after October 31, 2014 and the Expression of Interest pre-application must be completed to be considered for any direct assistance.
The Fisheries Disaster Funds will be distributed as direct assistance grants with the intention to provide up to $10,000 per individual or business for eligible losses (actual grant amounts will be determined by a variety of factors such as number of applicants, sector and unmet need). Eligible losses shall mean a loss suffered with respect to damage resulting from Superstorm Sandy where there remains an unmet need for repair or replacement. Activities already undertaken (i.e. out-of-pocket expenses) as part of an individual’s or business’ recovery effort may also be eligible for reimbursement. Losses include, but are not limited to:
- Lost/damaged fishing gear
- Lost/damaged/ruined product
- Replacement/repair of equipment
- Replacement/repair of infrastructure
- Lost revenue in November and December 2012 when compared to income from November and December of 2010 and 2011
All applicants will be required to document a minimum of $5,000 of losses as a direct result of Superstorm Sandy and document any reimbursable losses sought. In order to ensure there is no "duplication of benefits" (i.e. getting reimbursed for the same loss twice), all applicants will need to provide documentation from other funding sources (e.g. insurance or other state/federal grant programs, such as reimbursements from FEMA) and will be required to certify that they have not received any benefits for the losses submitted with their application. Lastly, all applicants will be required to provide appropriate documentation (e.g. license, registration, other verification) that verifies the applicant was operating in New Jersey at the time of the storm.
Once an Expression of Interest pre-application is submitted, a team of independent grant administrators will determine an applicant’s eligibility. If eligibility is determined, a separate e-mail will be sent to the applicant requesting additional materials/documentation in order to complete a full application.
For more details and guidelines regarding the Expression of Interest pre-application, please visit the Division of Fish and Wildlife’s Fisheries Disaster webpage.
Please use the following methods to contact us and speak with a grant administrator that will assist you with any questions or problems:
Phone: 609-292-1057 – Commercial Fishermen and Shellfish/Aquaculture
609-292-1055 – Commercial Fishermen and Commercial Dealers
609-292-9942 – Bait and Tackle and Marinas
609-984-0232 – Bait and Tackle and For-Hire
E-mail: [email protected] – all sectors
