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Shellfishermen to receive $1.9 million in federal aid for red tide
(AP Photo/Lisa Poole/file)
In 2005, Walker Creek in Essex was part of more than1.35 million acres of shellfish beds in Massachusetts closed by a record-breaking red tide.
By Globe staff
Commercial shellfishermen in Massachusetts will receive $1.9 million in federal disaster aid as partial compensation for a devastating red tide outbreak in 2005, the state Division of Marine Fisheries announced in a statement today.
"This federal money will not cover the shellfish industry for the full extent of the economic disaster in 2005, but it does bring a measure of relief to this important area of our coastal economy," Ian Bowles, the state secretary of environmental affairs, said in a statement. "We are grateful to our congressional delegation, who worked hard to secure this funding."
Payouts to 382 shellfishermen will average $4,800, ranging from $1,750 to $27,000. The disaster relief awards, which will be distributed by the end of this week, were based on several factors, including past catch reports and the red tide-related closures in 2005 in the community where the recipient fished.
Red tide is a naturally occurring toxin that can make shellfish unsafe to eat. The record-breaking bloom in 2005 closed 1.35 million acres, or 77 percent of the state’s shellfish beds.
Communities with commercial shellfisheries affected by red tide in 2005 were: Newbury, Rowley, Ipswich, Essex, Gloucester, Cohasset, Scituate, Marshfield, Duxbury, Kingston, Plymouth, Bourne, Sandwich, Barnstable, Yarmouth, Dennis, Brewster, Orleans, Eastham, Wellfleet, Truro, Provincetown, Chatham, Harwich, Nantucket, Edgartown, Tisbury, Chilmark, Aquinnah, and Wareham.
The red tide affected quahogs, surf clams, conch, razor clams, blue mussels, soft-shelled clams, oysters, sea scallops, and carnivorous snails.
