Alabama’s Shrimp/Fishing Industries
to get $15 million for Katrina recovery
U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), ranking member of the Senate Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice and Science, today announced that the U.S. Department Commerce will release $15 million to the State of Alabama to assist the state’s shrimp and fishing industries as they continue to recover from Hurricane Katrina.
“The 2005 hurricane season had a wide-spread and long-lasting impact on the Gulf Coast’s fishing industries and the infrastructure that supports them,” said Shelby. “Compounded with high fuel prices and increased restrictions on the fisheries, the hurricane damage has shrimpers and fishermen across Alabama struggling to stay in business. This funding will provide long overdue direct assistance to an industry that is a critical part of the economic engine of the Alabama Gulf Coast.”
These funds have been awarded by the U.S. Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) were made available pursuant to Public Law 110-28, the “Troop Readiness, Veterans’ Care, Katrina Recovery and Iraq Accountability Appropriations Act of 2007” (Fiscal Year 2007 Supplemental). Under the allocation plan developed by NOAA, the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, working with stakeholders, will determine the priorities for the state’s fishery recovery efforts.
