Frequent Questions: Fishery Resource Disaster Assistance

What is a Fishery Resource Disaster?

A fishery resource disaster refers to an unexpected, large decrease in fish stock biomass or other change that results in significant loss of access to the fishery resource. This may include loss of fishing vessels and gear for a substantial period of time. It results in significant revenue loss or negative subsistence impact due to an “allowable cause.” Allowable causes include natural, undetermined, or, in certain circumstances, discrete human-made causes.

Fishery Resource Disaster Determination Process

1. What is the general process for fishery resource disaster determinations?

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• An eligible entity requests a fishery resource disaster determination from the Secretary. Most requests must be submitted no later than 12 months from the conclusion of the fishing season, fishery closure, or natural event.
• Within 20 days of receiving an initial request, NOAA Fisheries will provide an interim response acknowledging receipt, providing information on a regional point of contact, and requesting additional information if the initial request is incomplete. 
• After requesters submit the required information, and NOAA Fisheries deems the request as complete, NOAA Fisheries will conduct an evaluation of the information provided by the requester.
• The Secretary will make their determination based on the evaluation within 120 of receiving a complete request.
• The Secretary will then notify the requester of the determination within 14 days. 
• There is no standing fund for fishery resource disaster assistance. However, Congress may appropriate funds for fishery resource disaster assistance on an ad-hoc basis. 
• Allocation Process
  • Upon receiving funds appropriated by Congress, NOAA Fisheries analyzes the data submitted by the affected entities to determine the allocation of funds to identified disasters. This ensures alignment with statutory requirements and appropriation conditions.
• Spend Plans and Fund Distribution
  • Requesters must provide a complete spend plan within 120 days of notification regarding the availability of funds. Once received, the state, territory, or tribe will manage the process of distributing assistance or executing projects in accordance with their approved spend plan.

2. Who makes a fishery resource disaster determination?

• The Secretary of Commerce makes determinations based on analysis done by NOAA Fisheries. NOAA Fisheries also administers assistance if funds are provided by Congress.

Process to Request a Fishery Resource Disaster

 3. How do you request a fishery resource disaster?

• A request for a fishery resource disaster determination must be sent to the Secretary by a state governor, an official resolution of an Indian tribe, or other comparable elected or politically appointed executive representative of an affected fishing community (e.g., mayor, official tribal representative, city manager, county executive). The Secretary may determine a fishery resource disaster has occurred without a request in exceptional circumstances where substantial economic impacts affect a fishery and fishing community and are subject to a disaster declaration under another law.
• Requests must include the information specified in #4 below and generally be submitted within 1 year of the disaster. Additional details on deadlines can be found in #6.

4. What information is needed in a fishery resource disaster request?

• Requestors may include other information, but all requests submitted must include: 
  • A clear definition of the fishery, including identification of all presumed affected fish stocks, the appropriate fishery management entity or entities (federal or non-federal), and the geographical boundaries of the relevant fishery or fisheries:
    • The fishery as a whole is typically considered; for a federal fishery, NOAA Fisheries will use the fishery as described in the relevant federal fishery management plan, though the requester(s) may provide a rationale for sub-units of a fishery or sub-regions, based on how the fishery is managed (e.g., for a state fishery the sub-units or sub-regions should have been treated as a unit for management purposes prior to the disaster);
  • Information on causes of the fishery resource disaster, if known, including information demonstrating the occurrence of an unexpected large decrease in fish stock biomass or other change that results in significant loss of access to the fishery resource, which could include the loss of fishing vessels and gear, for a substantial period of time 
  • 12-month revenue loss data pertaining to the year and sector of the requested fishery resource disaster, as well as sector-specific fishery revenue data for the 5 years prior to the requested disaster year or the most recent 5 years when no fishery resource disaster has occurred, or equivalent for stocks with cyclical life histories, consistent with Magnuson-Stevens Act confidentiality requirements
  • If applicable, information on lost resource tax revenues for the 12 months of the disaster year and the previous 5-year average
  • If applicable, information on negative subsistence impact for the affected fishery.
• NOAA Fisheries may request additional information from the requester to assist in the review.

5. How will I know if a fishery resource disaster request has been received?

• Within 20 days of the Secretary receiving the request, the NOAA Fisheries Assistant Administrator will send a letter acknowledging receipt of the request and providing a regional point of contact. If the request is considered incomplete, the acknowledgment letter will include a request for the additional information needed to complete the analysis. Without all the necessary information, NOAA Fisheries cannot move forward with their review. 
  • Fishery resource disaster determinations and status to see if a specific disaster has a complete package and timeline for next steps
• The requester has up to 12 months from the acknowledgment letter from NOAA Fisheries to submit all needed information. If additional information is not provided after 1 year and 1 day following acknowledgment response, the conclusion of the fishing season, or fishery closure, the request will be considered withdrawn and no longer eligible for a fishery resource disaster determination.

6. When should a fishery resource disaster request be submitted?

• The Magnuson-Stevens Act requires a fishery resource disaster determination request to be submitted within 1 year of the disaster. 
• For fisheries that are completely closed, the request must be submitted within 1 year from the closure date. 
• In situations where distinct causes occur in more than one consecutive fishing season, requests must be made within 2 years of the conclusion of the fishing season corresponding to the disaster’s first occurrence for which the request for a disaster determination is being made.

7. What happens if a fishery resource disaster is submitted outside the 1 (or 2) year timeline?

• Requests must meet the applicable deadlines. If a request is submitted outside the dates outlined above, NOAA Fisheries will let the requester know the request is ineligible for a fishery resource disaster review. 

8. How far back in time will the Secretary go to conduct the fishery resource disaster evaluation?

• For fishery resource disaster determination requests where disasters have been determined by the Secretary in multiple years, NOAA Fisheries will average the revenue losses for the most recent 5 years where no fishery resource disasters occurred, up to the 10th year prior to the year of the requested disaster determination. After more than 10 years, the situation no longer meets the definition of a fishery resource disaster because the impacts to the fishery are considered reasonably predictable and/or foreseeable. 
• If there are fewer than 5 years within the last 10 years without a disaster, it is not possible to calculate the average of the most recent five years, and NOAA Fisheries would not recommend a positive determination to the Secretary.  
• For species that do not have yearly returns due to the life-cycle characteristics of a stock, in consultation with the requester(s) and with appropriate documentation, NOAA Fisheries will look at the equivalent number of years to apply five non-disaster years of returns for the fishery. For example, stocks with a well-documented, fixed 2-year life cycle, such as pink salmon, typically have returns in high numbers every other year and are managed accordingly. For such stocks, data averages for five consecutive years would not facilitate a reasonable comparison. Therefore, for such stocks, data from the five most recent even years (or odd years, whichever applies) will be used as the basis for comparison.
• For potential disasters involving tribal fisheries, NOAA Fisheries will engage with the affected Tribal entity on a case by case basis to determine whether it is necessary or appropriate to deviate from the above guidance.

Requirements for a Fishery Resource Disaster Determination

9. What requirements must be met for the Secretary of Commerce to make a positive determination?

• There must be a fishery resource disaster as defined by the Magnuson-Stevens Act.
• The cause for the fishery resource disaster must be an allowable cause under the Magnuson-Stevens Act (see question #11).
• There must be an economic or subsistence impact stemming from the fishery resource disaster. In most cases, revenue losses must meet the standards required for a fishery resource disaster determination (see question #10).

10. What are the revenue loss thresholds for a fishery resource disaster determination? What will be considered for subsistence fisheries?

• NOAA Fisheries will analyze the applicable revenue losses on a sector-by-sector basis, including commercial, charter, headboat, and processors, when available. NOAA Fisheries will examine the 12-month revenue loss experienced by each sector in the year of the fishery resource disaster compared to the previous 5-year average in which no disaster occurred and apply the below revenue loss thresholds:
  • Revenue losses greater than 80 percent may result in a positive determination that a fishery resource disaster has occurred, based on the information provided or analyzed
  • Revenue losses between 35 and 80 percent will be evaluated to determine whether economic impacts are severe enough to determine that a fishery resource disaster has occurred
  • Revenue losses less than 35 percent will not be eligible for a determination that a fishery resource disaster has occurred
• In considering negative subsistence impacts, the Secretary shall evaluate the severity of negative impacts to the fishing community instead of applying the revenue loss thresholds described above.

11. What is an allowable cause for a fishery resource disaster?

• Allowable causes are natural causes, undetermined causes, or discrete anthropogenic causes (i.e. human-made),  such as an oil spill or spillway opening that could not have been addressed or prevented by fishery management measures and that is otherwise beyond the control of fishery managers to mitigate through conservation and management measures. Regulatory restrictions imposed as a result of judicial action or to protect human health or marine animals, plants, or habitats.
• Please note that market conditions (e.g., increased fuel costs or low market prices that make it uneconomical to fish) are not allowable causes.

12. Can fishery management regulations or overfishing be an allowable cause for a fishery resource disaster?

• A fishery subject to overfishing in any of the 3 years preceding the date of a determination under this subsection is not eligible for a determination of whether a fishery resource disaster has occurred unless the Secretary determines that overfishing was not a contributing factor to the fishery resource disaster.

13. Can other regulations be the cause of a fishery resource disaster?

• Regulatory restrictions put in place to ensure compliance with the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act are not an allowable cause. 
• In cases where an injunction under a different statute or closure is issued by another agency (e.g., when the Food and Drug Administration closes a fishing area due to toxins in the water), NOAA Fisheries will evaluate the situation on a case-by-case basis. 
• In situations where regulations have been remanded to the agency by a court for further action, NOAA Fisheries will pursue their normal regulatory processes to address the Court's findings; the results of that most likely will not be an allowable cause for a disaster. 

14. Can state-managed fisheries qualify for, or be included in, a fishery resource disaster determination?

• Yes, state-managed fisheries may, and have been, included in fishery resource disaster determinations. 
• In all requests for fishery resource disaster determinations, those making the requests must offer a well-defined explanation of the fishery, outlining the identified impacted fish stocks and the geographical scope of the relevant fishery or fisheries. Generally, the entire fishery is evaluated for disaster determinations. If subparts or specific regions within a state's fishery are identified in the request, these subparts should have been previously used for management purposes before the occurrence of the disaster.

15. Can land-based aquaculture facilities qualify?

• For all other facilities (e.g., beyond U.S. waters, freshwater operations, in-land operations), damages, or uninsured losses, NOAA Fisheries recommends exploring the USDA disaster program, specifically designed to provide support for aquaculture.

16. What type of revenue information should be included for aquaculture facilities?

• NOAA Fisheries will treat aquaculture facilities as it does other fishing operations under the Magnuson-Stevens Act and follow statutory requirements needed for a determination and allocation (see question #4).

17. Can revenue loss from ancillary businesses be included in a fishery resource disaster determination and allocation?

• The Magnuson-Stevens Act is specific on what fishery sectors can be included in the Secretary’s revenue loss evaluation in a fishery resource disaster determination. Therefore, any revenue losses from ancillary business (e.g., bait, ice, fuel, lodging) will not be included in NOAA Fisheries’ revenue loss analyses for the Secretary.   
• However, those businesses may be eligible to receive assistance depending on the state or tribe’s spend plans. Stakeholders should engage with their state or tribe to understand eligibility requirements.

18. Why has it sometimes taken the Secretary so long to make a determination?

• NOAA Fisheries is committed to working quickly with the requesters for fishery resource disaster assistance to evaluate their claims in a timely manner.
• Eligible requesters must submit all the necessary information (e.g., 12 months of revenue data to compare to the previous five-year average where no disaster occurred) for a request for a fishery resource disaster determination to be deemed complete. The speed at which a requester provides all such required information can vary. 
• Upon receipt of a complete request for a fishery resource disaster determination, NOAA Fisheries will conduct a review of the best scientific information available and must complete its evaluation within 120 days.

Process for Providing Disaster Resource Assistance Following Appropriation of Funds

19. Who is eligible to receive assistance for fishery resource disasters?

• Commercial and recreational fishermen and businesses, subsistence fishers, processing businesses are explicitly eligible under the Magnuson-Stevens Act. States or tribes may include additional businesses and additional eligibility requirements as part of their spend plans. Impacted stakeholders will need to consult with their state or tribe for specifics.

20. When will I receive assistance after a disaster has been determined?

• The amount of time it takes to receive assistance varies based on a number of factors (see the full process in #1).
• First, please note there is no standing fund for fishery resource disasters. To provide assistance, Congress must appropriate funding to help those affected by the disaster.
• Once Congress appropriates funds and NOAA Fisheries allocates them, the award recipient(s) develops an application (also known as a spend plan) that is consistent with requirements from Magnuson-Stevens Act and NOAA Fisheries and based on high-priority needs in the impacted community. They then submit the plan to NOAA Fisheries. Award recipients have 120 days from the date of the allocation announcement to submit their spend plans.
• NOAA Fisheries aims to have the funds obligated within 90 days of the receipt of a complete spend plan and award package.
• After NOAA Fisheries provides funds, the requesting entity executes the activities outlined in their spend plan, including any processes to provide assistance to fishermen and impacted businesses. The amount of time those processes take varies by entity.

21. How are funds directed after Congress appropriates them?

• Disaster funding is distributed to eligible entities through the federal grant process. Often the award recipient works on behalf of the requester to develop and submit a spend plan and grant proposal to NOAA Fisheries for obligation of funds.
• To develop the spend plan, the award recipient works with the affected parties to determine funding priorities consistent with the Magnuson-Stevens Act and any direction provided by Congress in the appropriation.
• Once the award recipient has completed their spend plan, they submit it along with a grant proposal. NOAA Fisheries, NOAA, the Department of Commerce, and the White House Office of Management and Budget review the materials to determine if they are consistent with the statutory requirements and meet federal grant requirements.

22. What percentage of the disaster losses will the requester receive?

• There are no standing Congressionally appropriated funds for disasters. Is impossible to assess ahead of time whether losses will be compensated. This will depend on whether Congress appropriates any funds, the amount of funds appropriated, and the number of disasters potentially eligible for those funds. However, in general, NOAA Fisheries expects to follow a proportional approach in developing fishery resource disaster allocations, using sector-specific fishery revenue loss information from positively determined disasters as a guiding benchmark. For commercial, charter, headboat, and processor sectors, the ratio of assistance to revenue loss can typically vary between 40 to 80 percent. This is based on factors such as funding availability, the number of disasters involved, specific revenue loss data, and other factors. NOAA Fisheries strives to provide assistance to cover approximately 67 percent of revenue losses, though this can vary based on the factors above. For tribal fisheries with subsistence impacts, we expect to allocate funds to cover up to 200 percent of revenue losses (subject to availability in appropriations and the factors noted above) in recognition of non-quantifiable subsistence and cultural impacts. Further, Congressional appropriations language must also be considered in determining allocations.

23. When can the requester start working on a spend plan?

• While there is no standing fund for fishery resource disasters and thus no guarantee of assistance, the anticipated recipient of funding may choose to begin working on a spend plan once they receive a positive determination from the Secretary. Anticipated recipients may choose to hold listening sessions or solicit public comment to help develop the priorities they consider to be the most appropriate to target fishery resource disaster funds.
• Once Congress appropriates funds and the recipient of the funding is notified of their allocation via a non-competitive Request for Application letter, the recipient will have 120 days to develop and submit a spend plan.

24. When should a spend plan be submitted? 

• Spend plans must be submitted within 120 days of receipt of the non-competitive Request for Application letter. 

25. What expenditures are eligible under a disaster assistance grant?

• States, tribes, and requesting entities have significant flexibility to determine what activities they want to prioritize with fisheries disaster assistance funding. As specified in Magnuson-Stevens Act, options include: 
  • Habitat conservation and restoration
  • Collection of fishery information
  • Capacity reduction 
  • Other activities that improve management of fishing effort in a commercial fishery, developing, repairing, or improving fishery related public infrastructure, direct assistance to a person, fishing community (including assistance for lost fisheries resource levies), or a business to alleviate economic loss incurred as a direct result of a fishery resource disaster, or hatcheries and stock enhancement to help rebuild the affected stock or offset pressure on the affected stock

26. What are other means by which fishing communities can get money for assistance? What role does the Small Business Administration have related to this policy?

• If the Secretary has determined there is a fishery resource disaster, then small fishing-related businesses may qualify for certain Small Business Administration loans. These can, in certain cases, help address economic injury and physical damage.
• The Department of Labor has information on the disaster assistance available from 15 federal agencies.

27. Why is NOAA not using the Bureau of Indian Affairs to distribute these funds to the tribes? 

• Although NOAA was able to use Bureau of Indian Affairs to distribute fisheries assistance under the Consolidated Appropriations Act 2021, we currently do not have processes in place to award fishery resource disaster funds through the Bureau.

Laws and Authorities Covering Fishery Resource Disaster Assistance

28. What authorities govern fishery resource disasters?

• The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Act provides the authority and requirements for fishery resource disaster determinations.
• The Secretary of Commerce may provide congressionally appropriated disaster assistance for activities to restore the fishery affected by such a disaster, prevent a similar disaster in the future, or assist the affected fishing community.

29. How does the recently passed Fishery Resource Disasters Improvement Act impact disaster requests?

• The Fishery Resource Disasters Improvement Act includes several statutory changes to NOAA Fisheries Fishery Resource Disaster Program, such as specific timelines and information requirements for fishery resource disaster requests, determinations, and assistance. 
• All fishery resource disaster requests received after the Act was signed into law on December 29, 2022, will be reviewed based on the requirements of the Act. 

30. What happens when a Federal Emergency Management disaster declaration occurs for the same disaster in which the Secretary of Commerce has determined that a fishery resource disaster has occurred?

• A Federal Emergency Management Administration disaster declaration activates an array of federal programs designed to assist in the immediate response and recovery efforts after a major disaster. These may include individual assistance, public assistance, and hazard mitigation assistance. A fishery resource disaster determination is more limited in scope. It focuses primarily on restoring the fishery, assisting impacted communities, and preventing future disasters, or initiating projects or other measures to assist the affected fishing community.
• When disasters occur, NOAA and the Department of Commerce coordinate with the Federal Emergency Management Administration through the Recovery Support Function structure established by the National Disaster Recovery Framework.
• The statute also provides the Secretary the authority to make a disaster determination in an exceptional circumstance. The Secretary can do so when there is a disaster declaration under another statutory authority (e.g., Stafford Act) that affects a fishery or fishing community. This includes natural disasters or consequences from a direct action of a federal entity taken to prevent, or in response to, a natural disaster for purposes of protecting life and safety. In these cases, the Secretary may declare a fishery resource disaster without a request. 
• Note, different types of information are assessed under the Stafford Act and Magnuson-Stevens Act to determine if a disaster has occurred. The two processes typically take place on different timelines.

31. Why is my disaster not being reviewed under Magnuson-Stevens Act section 315? Why is NOAA Fisheries not using a Rapid Assessment to evaluate my request?

• The Fishery Resource Disasters Improvement Act has introduced a series of required modifications to the NOAA Fisheries Fishery Resource Disaster Program. Notably, the Act repealed Magnuson-Stevens Act section 315, eliminating the requirement for the Secretary to conduct rapid assessments and eliminating the authority to evaluate whether a catastrophic regional fishery resource disaster has occurred. 

More Information

List of Fishery Resource Disasters

Fishery Resource Disaster Assistance

Factsheet: Fishery Resource Disaster Process (PDF, 1 page)

Infographic: Fishery Resource Disaster Timeline (PDF, 1 page)