COUNTING RED TIDE LOSSES

This year’s red tide outbreak, the worst in three decades, has led to unprecedented efforts by government officials to help. Emergencies have been declared and federal assistance promised. But, when Maine officials tried to gather evidence of economic hardship here, they had a hard time. This could be for two reasons. One, red tide may not be as devastating as reported. Two, those who have lost a source of revenue have not told the state about their plight. If the latter is true, state officials need to hear from you.

More than half of the Maine coast has been put off limits to shellfish harvesting by the Department of Marine Resources because of an unusually large outbreak of red tide, an algal bloom which was fostered by this spring’s procession of storms. The outbreak is unusual because of its size and its early arrival. It generally stretches from Maine to Massachusetts, although portions of this state’s coast are safe for harvesting. Red tide makes shellfish such as clams and mussels unsafe for people and animals to eat.

Three large swaths of the coast are off-limits to all harvesting and one area in the midcoast is closed to quahog harvesting. About a third of the coast, in Washington County and around Penobscot Bay, is currently open.

The patchwork nature of the closures has led to frustration among many harvesters who have seen their business decline because people are afraid to eat any clams, mussels or oysters, regardless of where they come from. While understandable, such fears are unwarranted. DMR regularly tests shellfish at points along the coast and closes areas where the level of toxins approaches unsafe levels. Shellfish that has been harvested is also tested before it can be sent to market.

In order for the Small Business Administration to declare an economic disaster, it needs evidence from the state that five businesses have been harmed. Maine officials have had trouble meeting this minimum standard. One problem is that clammers tend to work individually and are considered independent contractors so they do not qualify as a business. Another is that not all clammers pay federal income taxes, a requirement to receive assistance from the federal government.

Economic disasters have been declared in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, but not Maine. That means SBA loan money is going to shellfish harvesters there, but not here. Some in Maine have complained that loans aren’t much help and that cash would be preferred. So far, however, the SBA loans are the only assistance money available.

The National Marine Fisheries Service can offer disaster assistance through the Interjurisdictional Fisheries Act or the Magnuson-Stevens Act. Neither program has any money. Maine’s congressional delegation could try to sneak an appropriations amendment on to other legislation this summer.

To go this route, however, they must be convinced that a real crisis exists, which goes back to the state’s problem finding enough businesses that have been harmed by red tide.

If you own a business that has suffered economic losses because of red tide, the government would like to hear from you. The phone number at the governor’s office is 287-3531.