New York State Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele, Jr. (I, D, WF-Sag Harbor) today announced that $3.6 million in grants are available to businesses in New York’s fishing industry affected by the impacts of Superstorm Sandy. Funded through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the grants will reimburse sectors of New York’s fishing industry that suffered a loss of revenue due to the storm.

The Department of Environmental Conservation, in collaboration with the Governor’s Office of Storm Recovery, will administer the Superstorm Sandy Fishery Disaster Relief Program. Businesses in Bronx, Kings, Nassau, New York, Queens, Richmond, Rockland, Suffolk and Westchester counties are eligible to apply.

DEC will accept applications through December 15. Funding will be distributed to eligible applicants following the close of the application period.

Eligible applicants include businesses in the following sectors: bait and tackle; for-hire fishing boat operators; marinas; commercial harvesters; commercial seafood dealers, shippers or processors; and aquaculture facilities.

Fishing businesses in eligible counties must complete an application and provide documentation to demonstrate more than $5,000 in revenue or gross income loss as a result of Superstorm Sandy, and have at least $15,000 in annual earnings in one of the eligible fishery sectors.

Applicants can apply online at https://apps.cio.ny.gov/apps/cfa/. Several public information meetings to explain the grant program and to provide application assistance will be held in Long Island, New York City and the lower Hudson Valley. More information on the meetings to be scheduled in the coming weeks and for more information about the program or for assistance with filling out the application is available on DEC’s website at: http://www.dec.ny.gov/pubs/102594.html. For additional information, applicants can also contact DEC at (518) 402-8044 or FisheryGrant@dec.ny.gov, or the Governor’s Office of Storm Recovery (GOSR) at 1-855-NYS-SANDY (1-855-697-7263) or info@stormrecovery.ny.gov.