Gov. Moore sends federal disaster funding request on current state of fishery
MARYLAND. – The Delmarva Fisheries Association, sharing with WMDT, a letter from Governor Wes Moore that was sent to the U.S. Department of Commerce, Secretary Howard Lutnick.
The letter was an attempt to request an evaluation of the current state of commercial fishery in Maryland waters.
With the snowstorm, ice in the Chesapeake Bay has depressed the market this year. Governor Wes Moore said there had been quote “reduced consumer confidence resulting from misconceptions about the impact of the Potomac interceptor sewage spill on Maryland’s waterways.”
Robert Newberry, the President of the Delmarva Fisheries Association, says the Governor’s request for funding from the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation Management Act (MSA) and Interjurisdictional Fisheries Act (IFA) will take too long to process payment in the current situation, which he claims is dire.
“We’re looking at a year or year and a half before we do this. My guys need help right now. I got guys getting cars repossessed and the banks foreclosing on their boat loans because they haven’t been able to work,” said Newberry. “The other thing is how do the watermen feel about this letter? We have been left behind, and now we’re suffering the consequences. We haven’t been left behind, and we have been abandoned.”
On March 10th, the DFA will be at the Annapolis statehouse to collaborate on a bipartisan bill focused on improving waterways and ensuring watermen retain their earnings.
Newberry believes that the Governor is pushing for a second funding source through the IFA, which caters to pollution. This will end up hurting the state and watermen in the long-term, due to the slow process in getting funding dispersed.
“Under the Magnuson Stevens Act, money would be a lot quicker because all we have to do is prove no market and weather. Under the other act talking about the pollution, it could be a year or 2 years before we see any money.”
According to the letter — as of February 18, 2026, there was a 44% reduction in harvest compared to the previous 5-year average, and with an expectation for further decline for the remaining season.
