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News: 2008

L.D.W.F. Reminder Concerning Distribution of Federal Fisheries Economic Assistance Program
Posted: 8/20/08

The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries is reminding qualified commercial resident fishermen, certain commercial fishing vessel license holders, wholesale/retail seafood dealers and charter boat fishing guides that the deadline for submitting the required forms for participation in the federal fisheries economic assistance program is Oct. 31, 2008.

LDWF is providing $28.2 million in assistance to the state’s commercial fishing and charter boat industries through a $41.3 million federal fisheries economic assistance grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration through the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission. Louisiana resident commercial fishermen, certain commercial fishing vessel license holders and wholesale/retail seafood dealers with trip ticket recorded sales or purchases of seafood during the 12-month period (Sept. 1, 2004 – Aug. 31, 2005) prior to Hurricane Katrina as well as Louisiana resident charter boat operators who held a LDWF charter boat fishing guide license in the qualifying period (Sept. 1, 2004 – Aug. 31, 2005) qualify for some level of personal assistance. LDWF requires trip tickets to collect commercial landings and associated information by trip.

LDWF is administering the distribution of personal assistance payments to qualified resident charter boat fishing guides, commercial resident shrimp, oyster, crab, and saltwater finfish fishermen and certain commercial fishing vessel license holders in the shrimp, oyster, saltwater fish and menhaden fisheries and wholesale/retail seafood dealers and freshwater finfish and wild crawfish fishermen who resided in the 27 LDWF defined hurricane impacted parishes using trip ticket report records. Trip tickets dated during the eligible period but submitted after Sept. 1, 2007 will not be considered.

Approximately 8,837 information packets were mailed during May and June to qualified participants that LDWF identified from pre-storm trip ticket and license records. LDWF urges anyone who has received a packet and not submitted the required forms to do so immediately.

The South Central Planning and Development Commission (SCPDC) and affiliated planning districts are receiving and processing all information about this assistance program and anyone who is qualified to receive assistance and has not received a packet should contact the SCPDC as soon as possible by calling 1-800-630-3791 (toll-free) or 985 655-1051 (local) or mailing SCPDC at P.O. Box 1240, Gray, LA 70359-9902 or visiting the SCPDC Web site at www.scpdc.org/fisheriesassistance. Any questions concerning eligibility, requests for information, etc. should also be directed to the SCPDC.

To date, forms from approximately 5,400 qualified participants have been received and payments totaling $7,334,291 have been made to 1,677 eligible participants. The process of reviewing and verifying remaining forms and issuing payments is moving as rapidly as possible; however, LDWF is concerned over the large number of non-responses.

Many eligible participants have moved or been displaced by the hurricanes of 2005 and have not renewed their fishing licenses, leaving LDWF with out-dated address information. LDWF is examining all available databases in order to contact non-respondents and suggests that anyone in touch with these qualifying participants urge them to contact the SCPDC as soon as possible.

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