2018 Chignik Sockeye Salmon
Disaster Funds Distributed
On October 30, 2019, the U.S. Secretary of Commerce made a disaster determination for the 2018 Chignik sockeye salmon fishery under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. On February 27, 2020, the Secretary of Commerce allocated $10.3 million to address losses to the Chignik management area affected by the fishery failure. The State of Alaska, in consultation with stakeholders and NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service, drafted a spend plan and forwarded the plan to Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission (PSMFC), the administrator of the federal grant for the disaster funds. The application period opened in early November 2021, and distribution of direct payments to harvesters and processors was completed by late March 2022.
The spend plan allocated funds to help partially restore losses to fishery participants impacted by the 2018 Chignik sockeye salmon fishery disaster and for research. Research funds were distributed by competitive bid for scientific research projects to better assess the freshwater and marine conditions that influence productivity of the Chignik sockeye salmon stock and to examine the effects of the fishery disaster on subsistence users in the region.