The Canadian government is allocating CAD 40 million (USD 30 million, EUR 27 million) over the duration of two years toward shellfish-sector recovery efforts following Hurricane Fiona in September 2022.
Canadian harvesters and processors were hit hard in when the storm slammed into Canada's east coast, leaving thousands without power and causing nearly USD 500 million (EUR 512 million) in insured damages.
The storm resulted in widespread losses for local fishery and aquaculture industries, which were already coping with this year’s crash in lobster and crab prices.
The funds, directed through the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, will support shellfish operators and nonprofit organizations by providing them funding for storm-damage repairs, equipment replacement, clean-up, product loss compensation, and other long-term project services.
Over half of the small craft harbors in the path of Fiona in Atlantic Canada and Quebec sustained damage from the storm, according to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada.
The government of Canada previously granted CAD 300 million (USD 218 million, EUR 224 million) in federal funding to the recovery effort, but local officials and seafood-industry leaders said more assistance was needed, according to the CBC.
Photo courtesy of Tom Clausen/Shutterstock
