Dear License Holder:
Using funds for fisheries relief provided through the Consolidated Appropriations Act, the Department of Marine Resources (DMR) is reimbursing commercial harvesters for the costs of their 2022 licenses and any associated fees (surcharges, tags, etc.). To be eligible for reimbursement, the license must meet the following requirements:
- The license must be a commercial license (apprentice licenses are not included).
- The license must be a renewal of a license type held in 2021.
- The holder of the license must be 18 years of age or older as of January 1, 2022.
The Department is processing payments quarterly, and is currently processing payments for all 2022 licenses that meet the above criteria that were sold between November 15, 2021 - March 31, 2022. A letter has been sent to all individuals who qualify for reimbursement as a result of a license purchased during this period.
Once this first round of checks has been processed, DMR will then process the checks for licenses sold between April 1, 2022 and June 30, 2022. We will continue to do license reimbursements each quarter, through the end of 2022. Dealer licenses will be reimbursed at the end of the 2022 dealer licensing year (by April 30, 2023). Lease fees for commercial aquaculture leases will be reimbursed through a separate process.
DMR has been working with the Office of the State Controller and anticipates that checks for the license sales that occurred between November 15, 2021-March 31, 2022 will be cut and mailed at the end of June 2022. A paper check will be sent in the mail to the address provided by the license holder.
Please be aware that if you are a lobster license holder and you purchased your license between November 15, 2021 and March 31, 2022, but you ordered your tags, or additional tags, after June 6, 2022, the reimbursement for your tag purchases that occurred after June 6, 2022 will be provided in the next round of reimbursements. In addition, the reimbursement applies only to the purchase of initial tags, and not replacement tags.
I know that rising fuel costs and other expenses have been a challenge for many fishing operations. I hope this program to reimburse license fees provides some measure of relief that helps to offset other business expenses.
A press release announcing this important cost relief was issued today by Governor Mills.
Sincerely,
Patrick C. Keliher Commissioner