The Washington State Department of Commerce has $300,000 in grants available for shellfish growers who have suffered in exports and sales due to COVID-19. | Pxfuel
The Washington State Department of Commerce has $300,000 in grants available for shellfish growers who have suffered in exports and sales due to COVID-19. | Pxfuel
The Washington State Department of Commerce has $300,000 in grants available for shellfish growers who have suffered in exports and sales due to COVID-19, Daily Fly reported.
“Washington’s shellfish growers have had this current season devastated by the global pandemic. We are providing needed funds now so that our small shellfish growers in particular, can make timely purchases of seed and larvae this summer to keep next season’s sales opportunities alive," Gov. Jay Inslee said, the news media reported. “We are hopeful that additional federal assistance for fisheries and aquaculture will be made available but we are stepping up as a state to help these growers.”
The grant money comes from the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) — $200,000 from the Working Washington Small Business Emergency Grant Program and $50,000 from the department's Rural Rehab Program, the news media reported.
“Our state’s aquaculture industry is coping with an unprecedented series of challenges that have resulted from this on-going pandemic afflicting our state and much of the world,” WSDA Director Derek Sandison said, the news media reported. “My hope is that these grants, coming at this critical time, will help the industry weather this difficult storm.”
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