By Sara Gideon
Throughout the state, Maine people and businesses are confronting an unprecedented set of challenges right now. The coronavirus pandemic has upended families and communities across the state, and it is hitting Maine’s lobster industry particularly hard.
From Kittery to Lubec, lobstermen were already worried about President Trump’s harmful trade war with China and the ongoing uncertainty about NOAA regulations. On top of that, coronavirus has now forced many of the lobster industry’s key purchasers to shut down, putting many of the individuals who work in the industry in a precarious economic position.
Here in Maine, we know how important the lobster industry is to our state and our people. Maine’s lobstermen have supported local communities across our state for generations. I’m glad the federal government has been able to work together to pass relief packages that have helped Mainers, but much more needs to be done. If the federal government can bail out big corporations, then it must also do more to help small businesses and workers like those in Maine’s lobster industry.
Last week, I joined lobster boat captain and Rep. Genevieve McDonald from Deer Isle to talk about the specific challenges facing the lobster industry — and what support they need.
First, the Trump administration needs to provide immediate cash assistance and funding to the lobster industry to keep boat captains and crew afloat. That means expediting the release of the $300 million from the CARES Act for commercial and charter fisheries, which would include the lobster industry. This is action that the administration can — and should — take right now.
But the lobster industry needs more than just that. The federal government should work to allocate additional funding from the Commodity Credit Corporation and farmer disaster funds specifically for the lobster industry.
As Congress debates the next phase of coronavirus relief legislation, our federal delegation should also ensure that further funding is appropriated to help the lobster industry. That should include expanding the Payroll Protection Program, increasing its funding and allowing the lobster industry to cover a bigger portion of their operating costs so that, for instance, captains can more easily make payments on their fishing vessels.
Local governments know their businesses and workers best, so Congress should also create a grant program that allows cities and states to provide targeted relief to local workers and businesses — including the lobster industry here in Maine.
Additionally, because the lobster and fishing industries already operate on such small margins, the federal government should consider establishing federal procurement programs specifically for American seafood products to help the industry weather this storm.
Finally, we know that once the coronavirus pandemic subsides, there will still be a lot of work to do to support Maine’s lobster industry and fisheries. That’s why Congress must ensure robust funding for the National Marine Fisheries Service to safeguard and strengthen the management of our nation’s fisheries.
Together, these steps would help the lobster industry — and the people who work in it — stay in business and provide enough relief so that lobstermen are able to get back to work once this crisis passes.
This crisis is unlike anything most of us have had to face in our lifetimes — but I know that Maine people are up to the challenge. Our health-care workers are fighting the virus every single day, businesses are changing their production lines to produce critical PPE for frontline workers, and neighbors are volunteering to help in any way they can.
Maine people can’t overcome this pandemic and ignite a fair economic recovery on our own, though. We need the federal government to step up and provide leadership. I will continue to elevate the voices of Mainers and advocate for the kind of response from the federal government they need right now. We will get through this because Mainers help each other, and I will continue to stand by your side and fight for your interests here in Maine and in Washington, D.C.
Sara Gideon of Freeport is speaker of the Maine House of Representatives. A Democrat, she is running for U.S. Senate.
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