Earth Equity News

It’s Official: A Fisheries Disaster. By John Collins Rudolf, NYTimes, May 26, 2010. “Commerce Secretary Gary Locke declared the Gulf of Mexico a national fisheries disaster area on May 24, citing the havoc wrought on the region’s multibillion-dollar fishing industry by the Deepwater Horizon blowout. The fisheries of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama are covered by the disaster declaration, making them eligible for federal relief funds. The spill in the gulf has forced the closing of more than 54,000 square miles of federal waters and wide swaths of Louisiana state waters to commercial and recreational fishing. Louisiana’s commercial fisheries, which generated about $2.4 billion in revenue and 27,000 jobs for the state last year, have been particularly hard hit by the spreading slick. The disaster declaration does not in itself authorize the release of funds, but federal law requires that it be accomplished before assistance can begin to flow. A far more important hurdle is Congressional approval of legislation authorizing $118 million in funds for the overall federal response to the spill, which was submitted by the Obama administration to the House and Senate on May 12. The pending legislation, as amended by the Senate appropriations committee, provides for $13 million in direct relief to gulf fishermen and fishing-related industries and $5 million in economic development grants to state, local and nonprofit entities to aid in the spill recovery process. When these funds will actually reach the hands of fishermen in the gulf is uncertain. The broader bill authorizing money for the spill response takes the form of an amendment to a massive $58.8 billion emergency appropriations bill that includes billions for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and many other items. This complex bill is under debate in the Senate and requires review and approval by the House before becoming law. Final approval of the bill is likely to be further delayed by a weeklong congressional recess beginning on Memorial Day.”