Getting financial relief to fishermen is cumbersome and takes a long time, but Bering Sea crabbers are hoping the snow crab crash could change things.
After a governor requests a disaster declaration, it needs to be approved by the U.S. Secretary of Commerce — and Congress needs to appropriate funding. The money goes through several agencies on its way to fishermen, who have to apply for a slice of it. And most fishermen have to figure out how to stay in business years before the money hits their bank accounts.
“We’ve been telling Congress that we need money within 6 months to a year for these small businesses to be able to weather this,” she said. The Arctic is warming more quickly than other parts of the world — that includes coastal Alaska. Researchers don’t know for sure what caused the snow crab population’s collapse, but they think warming ocean waters caused by climate change had something to do with it.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s office recently announced a Working Waterfronts Framework that seeks input on the disaster funding process. And ideas for fixes have included something similar to crop insurance for farmers. But Knapp says if fisheries are failing more frequently, that might not be the answer.
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