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.