The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has approved US$53.8 million in funding to restore losses for Alaska fisheries impacted by the 2016 Gulf of Alaska pink salmon fishery disaster.
The funds have since been transferred to the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission, the agency tasked with distributing the relief payments to fishermen and their deckhands, processors, and for salmon research in the affected regions.
On January 18, 2017, US Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker declared the 2016 Gulf of Alaska pink salmon fishery a disaster due to low returns. Alaska areas included in the disaster declaration for poor pink salmon harvests in 2016 were Prince William Sound, Kodiak Management, Chignik Management, Lower Cook Inlet Management, Yakutat, South Alaska Peninsula, and Southeast.
Following the disaster declaration, the Secretary of Commerce announced in June 2018 that Alaska would receive US$56.3 million in disaster funding to support compensation, recovery, and relief for affected fishermen, communities, and stakeholders. According to the NOAA, US$53.8 million of the total US$56.3 million funding package has so far been approved for release.
