Donalds introduces bill to help fisheries recover faster from disasters like Hurricane Ian

A just-introduced bill could help Southwest Florida’s fishing families get back on their white-booted feet faster.

Crabbers, shrimpers and net fishermen all took it on the chin after Hurricane Ian, with some completely out of business, and others struggling to rebuild storefronts, docks and boats. Painfully scarce: government aid dollars, despite a federal disaster declaration. Reviews, red tape and pending inspections make for a long, dragged-out process that takes years to work – if it does at all, says commercial fishing Captain Casey Streeter.

The bipartisan legislation spearheaded by Naples Republican Congressman Byron Donalds would “improve the federal regulatory process associated with the allocation of fishery disaster relief (and) expedite the distribution of federal disaster relief following official fishery disasters.”

Bottom line: It would speed up help.

When catastrophes like Ian – or Irma before it – hit fisherfolk, cripplingly long wait times for aid add insult to injury, says Streeter, who lost his markets on Matlacha and Sanibel and his Pine Island home to the storm's wrath.

Often, Streeter says, years passed before marine businesspeople saw a penny of disaster help, which often arrived too late to do much good. This bill would change that.

According to Donalds, it would:

• Improve the federal regulatory processes associated with fishery disaster relief funding within the Office of Management and Budget,

• Cut red tape by giving the OMB a 30-day decision requirement to deny/approve state spending plans and

• Expedite the federal fishery disaster relief funding process overall.

Cheered by groups as diverse as the National Audubon Society and the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission, the "Fishery Improvement to Streamline untimely regulatory Hurdles post Emergency Situation Act" (dubbed the FISHES Act) will speed up federal relief after official fishery disaster declarations – which Florida has requested six times in the past decade, points out Roger Young, executive director, of the state's Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

This isn’t just a Florida problem. Nationwide, there are 27 such disaster declarations. “It could be salmon or cod … situations where fisheries are in trouble,” Streeter said, though he’s careful to add the legislation would be a hand-up – “just to get things stabilized – not a hand-out.”

More: Shrimp and Grit: Fighting to save the Fort Myers Beach shrimping fleet after Ian's devastation

More: What we know: Rep. Donalds joins Ashbritt to update recovery efforts in St. James City

This bill is co-led by Arkansas Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola, with bipartisan cosponsors, including representatives Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), Jared Moskowitz (D-FL), Neal Dunn (R-FL), Troy Carter (D-LA), Troy Nehls (R-TX), James Moylan (R-Guam), Webster (R-FL), Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL), Amata Coleman Radewagen (R-American Samoa), Clay Higgins (R-LA) and Brian Mast (R-FL).

“The devastation incurred by the U.S. seafood industry in Southwest Florida following Hurricane Ian was catastrophic, and the impact still persists," Donalds said in a statement. "Our waterways are the lifeblood of our economy and the community, and it’s always been my commitment to advocate for water’s vitality ‒which ultimately benefits countless families, businesses, and the overall development of Florida’s 19th Congressional District.”

The bill would accelerate federal deadlines for approving disaster plans, providing what Young calls "timely financial support to the fishermen, processors, and our communities after being affected by a natural disaster."

Industry groups including the Marine Industries Association of Southwest Florida & Tampa Bay, the National Association of Charterboat Operators, the Southern Offshore Fishing Association and the Gulf of Mexico Commercial Grouper Fishermen are applauding Donalds as well.

"This legislation is long overdue," Captain Capt. Bob Zales II, National Association of Charterboat Operators president said in a statement. "Fisheries disasters, natural and man-made, seriously harm the many small family fishing businesses and the coastal communities they work from. These small family fishing businesses provide fresh Gulf seafood for consumers and recreational fishing opportunities to the public. Disasters take a serious toll on economic and social infrastructure, and disaster funding is needed quickly to help folks return to normal."

Also weighing in was National Audubon Society's Marine Conservation Policy Manager Remy Moncrieffe, who said in a statement, "This bill will help coastal communities get disaster assistance funding sooner to rebuild coastal habitats, so people and birds can recover more quickly after a disaster strikes.”

This bill is the latest in a multifaceted natural disaster relief package championed by Donalds. Other elements include advocating for use of nuclear microreactors in disaster recovery, hurricane tax relief, help for short line railroads and barring relief bills from including non-disaster-related elements.

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: 'No one's looking for a handout,' but act could help hard-hit fisherfolk