The California Fisheries and Seafood Institute (CFSI) has written Governor Newsom asking for efficient and effective economic assistance for seafood businesses and employees in California affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the letter to Governor Newsom, recommendations included:
- A streamlining of the application processes and fund distributions for:
- SBA COVID-19 disaster relief
- The EIDL Advance
- The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP)
- A request to contact the White House and ask that NOAA distribute the $300 million allocated in Section 12005 of the CARES Act to businesses as soon as possible
- A request that if NOAA distributes the funds through the states, that the Newsom Administration includes the full seafood supply chain in the relief, including value added processors and seafood distributors
- A need to improve food security and depend more on domestic seafood
- A need for additional grants and low interest loans to survive current conditions
For a copy of the letter sent to Governor Newsom, please contact the CFSI office at info@calseafood.net.