Maine eligible for $2M in red tide disaster aid

BOSTON – The federal government says $5 million in disaster aid is available to the shellfishing industry in Maine, Massachusetts and New Hampshire after this year’s red tide outbreak.

NOAA Fisheries Service said Tuesday that Maine and Massachusetts are eligible for up to $2 million each in aid, while New Hampshire is eligible for up to $1 million.

Shellfishing areas were shut down around New England after the toxic algae bloom started in May off Massachusetts and spread north. Eating shellfish with high levels of the toxin can cause potentially lethal paralytic shellfish poisoning.

Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez declared a commercial fishery failure on Friday after a request by Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick. Maine officials supported the request.

“This year’s red tide devastated Maine’s critical shellfish industry, which accounts for approximately $75 million annually in the state’s economy,” U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe said in a prepared statement. “These outbreaks threaten an array of local industries from fisheries to tourism, leaving Maine’s coastal communities economically vulnerable and ecologically hazardous.”

U.S. Sen. Susan Collins said the funding “will help Maine’s fishing and coastal communities recover from last summer’s damaging red tide outbreak.”

The states must now submit plans for using the money to NOAA.