REQUIRED READING
ELIGIBLE CLAIMS
To make a potentially eligible claim, an individual or business in a qualified sector must have participated in a marine and/or anadromous fishery (or qualified marine aquaculture) during the loss window impacted by COVID-19 in 2020 as well as the prior five years.
Fishery participants eligible to receive funding are limited to commercial fishing businesses, charter/for-hire fishing businesses, qualified aquaculture operations, processors and dealers participating in marine and/or anadromous fisheries. Marine bait and tackle operations and marine gear and vessel suppliers are not eligible for relief. Additionally, businesses farther down the supply chain including vessel repair businesses, restaurants, or seafood retailers are not considered “fishery-related businesses.”
If the business was not established for five years prior to 2020, must use all years they were in business from 2015-2019 during the loss window in the qualifying sector as their baseline.
*Applicants for which 2020 was their first year of business do not have a baseline to establish the greater than 35% loss threshold and will NOT be eligible for assistance.
Eligible applicants are defined by their social security number or taxpayer identification numbers. Each applicant must submit only one claim that includes all losses on gross income across their qualified permits in all eligible sectors. That is, fisheries/businesses that were not affected by COVID-19 cannot be selectively excluded from calculations, nor can years be selectively excluded from the five-year (2015-2019) baseline, even if designated as a federal fishery disaster. Losses must be attributed to COVID-19 and cannot be due to annual fluctuations or other, non-COVID-19, fisheries management measures (e.g., whale entanglement closures, harmful algal blooms, or delays).
RESIDENCY
California residents and businesses are required under penalty of perjury to certifiy the submittal of a 2020 Calfornia state tax return (or 2020 extension request) demonstrating California residency.