FINANCIAL relief assistance for the CNMI’s fisheries community should be ready for pick up as early as July 19, Friday afternoon.
According to the administrator of the Office of Grants Management & State Clearinghouse, Epiphanio E. Cabrera Jr., the financial awards for Round 2 arrived the morning of July 16, 2024 for the benefit of the Marianas’ fishing community.
The second round of the CNMI Fishermen Relief Program award was made possible through funding assistance received from Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security or CARES Act (Section 12005), which provided assistance to tribal, subsistence, commercial, and charter fishery participants affected by the novel coronavirus.
Within the CNMI, there were a total 1,825 applicants to the fisheries program. Of the total, there is an aggregate of 1,782 awards to the CNMI dedicated to subsistence and commercial programs — broken down into 1,780 of 1,816 recipients for subsistence applications and 2 of 9 for commercial applicants. Over the past 3 months, the Pacific State Marine Fisheries Commission concluded the final review and released the awards determination only last week due to the high volume of applicants received from other states including Washington, Alaska, Oregon, California, and the other U.S. territories.
When questioned as to how much assistance each applicant received, Cabrera underscored that each subsistence applicant was to receive a one-time payment of $173.59, while commercial applicant awards were determined by tax figures provided by the businesses that reflected actual loss. Award disbursements were based on a formula created by the CNMI Division of Fish & Wildlife and approved by the Pacific State Marine Fisheries Commission. The CNMI received an appropriation of $411,002 for the program, of which $308,990.20 was distributed among subsistence fishermen and $89,365 to commercial applicants. All remaining funds were dedicated to mandated administrative fees on both state and commission levels.
Applicants are being asked to visit their local post office for their relief assistance checks starting Friday afternoon. Tinian and Rota awards may take additional days for distribution due to mail transit times between islands.
Cabrera would like to thank the public’s patience and understanding throughout the past year and a half and reminds the CNMI fisheries community that PSMFC has informed OGM that since these subsistence awards are less than the $600 threshold for tax filing, no 1099-MISC Form will be required. Furthermore, about 2.3% did not receive an award and were found ineligible due to incomplete forms, expired documents, and unresponsiveness in the reconciliation process. As such, all concerns and inquiries regarding the distributed awards should be addressed in writing to the following:
Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission
205 SE Spokane St, Suite 100
Portland, OR 97202-6487
