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Red-tide relief gets OK
Cape Cod Times
June 15, 2005
By DAVID KIBBE TIMES BOSTON BUREAU BOSTON - The U.S. Small Business Administration yesterday declared a red tide disaster on the Cape and islands and in six other Massachusetts counties, making shellfishermen and related industries eligible for low-interest loans.
The SBA said in a statement it will open several field offices in the hardest-hit counties on Friday to meet with business owners, set up informational workshops and process applications. The locations were still being determined, but U.S. Rep. William Delahunt's office was working with the SBA to get a location on the Cape, said Mark Forest, his district director.
''At the request of Gov. Romney, SBA evaluated the impact the red tide is having on small businesses in Massachusetts and determined a disaster declaration is warranted,'' SBA Administrator Hector V. Barreto said in a statement.
Fishermen and businesses who are unable to pay bills or meet operating expenses may qualify for low-interest loans of up to $1.5 million to cover operational expenses, like payroll and equipment. The loans have an interest rate of 4 percent and terms extending up to 30 years.
Romney said he expected fishermen, processors, ice plants and shellfish transportation businesses to qualify.
''Although businesses primarily engaged in fishing may be impacted the most, the program is also available to Main Street and ancillary businesses suffering from the economic impact of this event,'' the SBA said.
SBA employees will help business owners fill out applications. ''They will walk them through the process,'' said Christine McCombs, director of the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency. ''They will physically sit there and fill out the applications for them, so they are not burdened by the paperwork.''
The counties where the economic disaster has been declared are Barnstable, Bristol, Dukes, Nantucket, Plymouth, Essex, Norfolk, Middlesex and Suffolk in Massachusetts and Hillsborough and Rockingham in New Hampshire.
The SBA said the field offices would be open as long as needed.
Yesterday, Romney met with shellfishermen in Gloucester and toured shellfish beds that have been closed because of red tide.
The red tide outbreak, the worst in the state since 1972, has shut shellfish beds from Maine to Nantucket. The toxin, which can cause numbness, paralysis and even death, poses a danger to humans who consume clams, oysters and mussels in areas hit by red tide.
It is safe to swim, even when water is swallowed. Lobsters, crabs and shrimp do not absorb the toxin. Sea scallops are also safe, if only the cleaned muscle meat is eaten.
Romney requested help from the SBA last Thursday after he was urged to do so by Sen. Robert O'Leary, D-Barnstable, and Sen. John Kerry.
Romney said the outbreak was costing 1,700 shellfishermen and an equal number of shellfishing-related industries about $3 million a week. The red tide is expected to last a total of 10 weeks, for an economic loss of $30 million.
Sen. Edward Kennedy commended the SBA.
''The red tide has caused sudden, severe hardship for our shell-fishing industry,'' he said, ''and these low-interest loans will help our fishermen survive the shutdown and the burden it's imposed.''
Romney and the Washington delegation are working on two other avenues of federal aid:
- A request for a disaster declaration from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which would make unemployment benefits of $175 to $528 a week available to workers in the shellfish industry.
- Seeking a disaster declaration from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce, which would provide research grants on how to limit and prevent red tides.
HOW TO GET HELP Small-business owners can contact the SBA Disaster Area 1 office at 1-800-659-2955 or, for the hearing impaired, 1-800-877-8339. Applications can also be downloaded from the SBA's Web site, http://www.sba.gov/disaster.
David Kibbe can be reached at dkottaway@aol.com.