NEW BEDFORD — The long-awaited Round 2 of federal fisheries disaster relief was announced Wednesday, an $8.3 million pot to be distributed among industry members other than the permit holders who benefited from the first round of aid.
Phase 2 will assist parts of the state's groundfish industry including federal limited access multispecies permit holders, state permit holders, for-hire groundfish permit holders, crew members and others. The state Division of Marine Fisheries said it will receive the money this month and immediately disburse it. It's unclear how many people will qualify under the second round — a spokesman for the DFM said officials were not available for comment Wednesday.
Jim Kendall, president of New Bedford Seafood Consulting, has said time and again that the disaster relief is "a day late and a dollar short."
"This entire disaster package has probably been one of the most mishandled federal assistance plans that I'm aware of," Kendall said. "... The money was pretty much inadequate to begin with for the amount of (harm) that was caused."
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