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Photo Ann Wood
Wellfleet oysterman Nate Johnson (left) collects signatures from tourists Justine Cole, JoAnn Kubaska and Barbara Cole, in an effort to secure grant money for shellfisherman who have temporarily lost their jobs because of the red tide outbreak. |
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Shellfishermen seek aid, not loans, to survive red tide
SBA administrator issues ‘disaster declaration’
By Ann Wood & Kaimi Rose Lum
Banner Staff
WELLFLEET — It’s been three weeks since the town’s shellfish beds closed because of the red tide, and if there’s one thing shellfishermen don’t want it’s more debt — which is just what the federal government is offering.
Oysterman Nate Johnson, who works in the wild fishery, stood outside of Town Hall Monday afternoon collecting the signatures of registered Massachusetts voters to try to force politicians into securing grant money for fishermen. Loans, he said, are useless.
“It’s not like they’re doing us some favor,” he said. “I think the big thing is for people who have families. They should get [emergency financial aid] immediately.”
This comes in response to a move made last week by Gov. Mitt Romney, who declared an economic disaster in Massachusetts because of the red tide outbreak.
Hector V. Barreto, administrator of the U.S. Small Business Association, agreed Tuesday afternoon that a disaster declaration was warranted, making Economic Injury Disaster Loans available to shellfishermen and other small business owners who are unable to pay bills or meet operating expenses.
The purpose of the EIDL program is to provide working capital to help businesses recover from funds lost because of red tide. Eligible businesses may qualify for up to $1.5 million in loans with a four-percent interest rate for up to 30 years. Although fishing businesses are primarily impacted, the program is also available to “Main Street” and ancillary businesses affected by the red tide.
Vicki Nicastro, a loan specialist for the Northeast division of the SBA, said that workshops are being set up and low-interest loans will be distributed beginning Friday. Loan officers will be on hand at specific locations to answer questions and help complete loan applications.
Nicastro wasn’t sure whether any of the workshops would be held on Cape, but said the SBA tries to set them up according to state requests. Disaster loan workshops will remain open as long as the need persists.
It is projected that the state as a whole is losing around $3 million a week because of the red tide outbreak. Wellfleet is the biggest aquaculture, or shellfish farming, town in the state, raking in more about $3.6 million in 2002.
The loan proposal made Jared Ziemba, a Wellfleet shellfisherman who was talking with Johnson in front of Town Hall, livid.
“I’m so upset about taking out a loan while we’re not making any money,” he said. “It’s not stress. It’s just hoping we’re going to come through it and salvage some income this year.”
Johnson contends that the Magnuson-Stevenson Fishery Conservation and Management Act provides grants to deal with commercial fishery failures brought about by disasters that are natural, man-made or of undetermined cause. These grant funds could be used, he believes, to assess the affects of commercial fishery failures, for restoring fisheries, preventing future failures or for fishing communities.
But Mark Forest, aid to Congressman William Delahunt, said that the Magnuson-Stevenson Act has no funds in its account, and even if it did, it would go toward restoration rather than to individual fishing families.
Forest said that cash assistance could come through the Federal Emergency Management Agency and unemployment insurance.
“The difficulty about cash assistance is that they’re going to be so loaded down with paperwork,” Forest said, adding that the SBA loan is more easily accessed, requires less paperwork, and will bring fishermen much-needed money the fastest. “Each of these different forms of assistance, none of them are perfect.”
Those in the fishing community say they are leery of even low-interest loans because once the flats open up, the market will be flooded with shellfish. While shellfish will then be safe to eat, fishermen figure it’s going to take some time for buyers to get back into the habit of buying. And, anyway, the shellfish market slows down once Labor Day rolls around.
“How much time are we going to have to supply our restaurants before Labor Day?” Johnson said.
Wellfleet Shellfish Constable Andy Koch further worries that if quahogs grow from littlenecks (the most desirable and smallest hard shell clam) to cherrystones (a bigger clam that sells for two to four cents less than littlenecks) while the red tide fishing ban is in effect, fishermen will lose thousands of dollars that can’t be recovered.
“This is the time of year that you can get ahead because you can dig your butt off and really squirrel your money away for the winter. If that’s taken away, there’s going to be a lot of hurting people,” Koch said, adding that fisherman need grant money — now. “That’s what it needs to be. Everyone needs a few thousand to pay their bills.”
The red tide, an algae known as Alexandrium, can be poisonous to people who eat hard shell clams, soft shell clams, oysters, mussels or scallops, because those shellfish feed by filtering food out of the water. Shellfish beds from Provincetown to Sandwich were closed May 26. As of Tuesday, the red tide wasn’t subsiding.
“It’s still bad and it’s not getting any better. They’re talking now at least the middle of July [before the flats can be fished again],” Koch said, adding that besides hurting fishermen, the red tide could cost the town $30,000 in recreational shellfish permit fees.
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Jun 16th, 2005