Commercial fishermen will be eligible for one-time fuel relief payments alongside farmers from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Harvest Fuel Relief program. The department announced earlier this month on Oct. 19 that up to $8 billion will be available.
The program is geared toward farmers who have experienced, “temporary market disruptions and increased input costs.”
Commercial fishermen across the state saw their diesel fuel prices go up more than 80% this summer compared to last year. That’s mainly driven by the ongoing war with Iran.
The application process and payout timeline haven’t been announced. But the USDA is encouraging interested fishermen to email HarvestFuel@usda.gov with data related to increased fuel costs to help inform payment rates.
Alaska U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan, a Republican, said he had a key role in fishermen’s inclusion.
“And so when I heard about this diesel fund for farmers, knowing that our fishermen were having similar challenges, I reached out directly to the secretary,'" Sullivan said.
As in, the Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins. Sullivan told KMXT he texted her and she committed almost immediately.
A USDA spokesperson ignored a question from KMXT about the interaction.
Thatcher Brouwer, the executive director of United Fishermen of Alaska, a trade association for commercial fishermen statewide, said via email his organization is working with the USDA to figure out, “a relatively simple and fair way to assist fishermen with the high fuel prices.”
Brouwer said UFA’s board will meet with USDA officials this week during the association’s board meeting. UFA says it plans to release more details on its Facebook page as the information becomes available.
The USDA said more details about eligibility and payout rates to fishermen will be available later this month.
This USDA’s fuel relief for fishermen follows the creation of an Office of Seafood within the department earlier this year on April 15. Sullivan said Alaska’s fishermen are now being treated like farmers of the sea.
“I spent over 10 years pounding the USDA, getting legislation going that said, ‘Hey guys, we need to enable our farmers of the sea to have the same access to these really, really substantial programs to help de-risk operations and help farmers to Alaska fishermen," Sullivan said.
A similar one-time federal program was established in 2020 when the USDA distributed $530 million of seafood trade relief to fishermen affected by the trade war with China.
