The FishAmerica Foundation has expanded its Gulf Fund grant program to include fisheries and their habitats that are being impacted by the continuing oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.
Why funding is needed
Funding from the FishAmerica Gulf Fund will be used to support the expansion of existing healthy fisheries habitat and the creation of new fisheries habitat in areas not directly affected by the oil spill. These areas will provide the much needed refuge, spawning and rearing habitat to ensure the survival of sportfish in the Gulf. The Gulf Fund was established in 2005 to provide funding for restoring fisheries habitat and recreational fishing facilities devastated by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
As we enter the third month of the oil leak, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) now estimates that between 35,000 and 60,000 barrels (or 1.5 million to 2.5 million gallons) of oil is being released into the Gulf of Mexico each day with disastrous effects on the region’s fish and wildlife. The foundation will work with state and federal natural resource agencies and local community conservation groups to identify and prioritize projects such as wetland creation and restoration, aquatic vegetation planting, restoring fish habitat and rebuilding angler access in the Gulf Region.
“Although no one is certain of the long-term impacts of the oil leak, the FishAmerica Foundation is prepared to step up and assist local groups with funding to help ensure the survival of Gulf sportfisheries and their habitat,” said FishAmerica Foundation Executive Director Johanna Laderman.
The fisheries and their habitat
According to a 2008 NOAA Fisheries report , the Gulf of Mexico is one of the most popular areas for recreational fishing in the United States with nearly six million saltwater anglers, taking over 45 million fishing trips each year, fishing for red drum, spotted seatrout, sheepshead and red snapper among others. Recreational fishing serves as the economic backbone for many coastal communities surrounding the Gulf of Mexico. The oil spill has the potential to impact the nearly 2,300 tackle shops in Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and Florida’s West Coast. The six million anglers combines resident and non-resident saltwater anglers in Alabama, Florida’s West Coast, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas who fish in the Gulf of Mexico.
We need your help!
Please click here to donate to the FishAmerica Gulf Fund. Your donations will help FishAmerica provide the funding needed to restore sportfishing along the Gulf Coast.
For up-to-date information on the oil disaster, please visit KeepAmericaFishing.
