Funding relief applications open for Del. fishery-related businesses impacted by pandemic
DELAWARE – Delaware saltwater fishery-related businesses that suffered severe revenue declines in 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic can apply to the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control for financial relief starting tomorrow, February 1st.
Delaware was awarded $2,959,612 of the 2021 Consolidated Appropriations Act fundings to provide financial relief to fishery-related businesses that had a greater than 35% decline in net revenue between March 1st and December 31, 2020, compared to historic average net revenue.
Businesses eligible to apply for these funds are:
- Commercial fishing
- Shellfish aquaculture
- For-hire recreational fishing, including charter and head boats
- Bait and tackle shops (revenue must come from the sale of saltwater bait and tackle, and 75% of the shop’s revenue must come from those sources
- Seafood dealers
- Seafood processors
Eligible businesses can apply to DNREC for funding by completing an affidavit on which the applicant will self-certify the business’s net revenue decline. An eligible business must demonstrate on the self-certification affidavit that its net revenue during the 2020 COVID-19 impact period decreased by more than 35% compared to the businesses’s average annual net revenue from 2015 through 2019.
For businesses in operation less than five years, but for at least one full year during 2015 through 2019, the net revenue loss during the COVID-19 impact period will be compared to the business’s average annual net revenue for its years of operation. The maximum amount of funding distributed to an individual fishery-related business will depend on the number of applicants and the amount requested by each applicant relative to total available funding, with a minimum award of $100.
For more information and the application, click here.
