The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries has extended the application deadline to Aug. 15, 2009, for its $15.7 million cooperative research program to monitor the recovery of Louisiana commercial fisheries impacted by hurricanes Katrina, Rita, Gustav and Ike.
The Cooperative Research application period, originally slated to end on June 30, 2009, will be extended to Aug. 15, 2009, for the 4,828 qualified dealers and fishermen to submit the required salmon-colored application forms mailed by LDWF in mid-April.
Qualified Louisiana resident commercial fishermen and wholesale/retail seafood dealers who participate in the program will be compensated for completing socio-economic surveys. The surveys are designed to capture information on the recovery status of the state's commercial fisheries and fishing industries following these hurricanes.
Commercial fishermen and wholesale/retail seafood dealers who have not yet submitted their applications should complete the salmon-colored forms and return them immediately to South Central Planning and Development Commission (SCPDC) at P.O. Box 1240, Gray, LA 70359-9902. Any questions concerning eligibility, requests for information, etc. should be directed to SCPDC by calling 1-800-630-3791 (toll free) or 985-655-1051 (local) or mailing SCPDC or visiting the SCPDC Web site at www.scpdc.org/fisheriesassistance.
If you received application forms for the Cooperative Research Survey Program, but no longer have that packet, contact SCPDC for a replacement.
LDWF officials stress that this is a deadline to apply, not the deadline of the entire program. SCPDC began mailing surveys to participants in late May, and surveys are being mailed as applications are received and validated.
It is estimated that the total infrastructure and economic loss from hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005 and hurricanes Gustav and Ike in 2008 totaled over $750 million. The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries was charged with the coordination and distribution of federal recovery funds. For more information on the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, visit www.wlf.louisiana.gov.
