Bristol Bay fishermen get a guide to making their case for federal fuel relief

Bristol Bay's drift fishermen don't know yet whether they'll get any of the federal government's new $8 billion fuel relief money. Their regional seafood group wants them to make their case anyway, and soon.

The Bristol Bay Regional Seafood Development Association on Monday published a step-by-step guide for sending fuel cost records to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The Trump administration announced the Harvest Fuel Relief Program Oct. 19 as one-time payments to farmers for market disruptions and higher input costs, according to USDA. The agency invited fishermen and others outside the main row crops to email it data on rising fuel costs so it can consider them when it sets payment rates.

It hasn't set those rates for fishing. There are no eligibility rules, application dates or deadlines yet, the association said, and sending data doesn't guarantee a payment. USDA asked for the numbers without setting any payment terms, and fishermen were left out of an earlier $11 billion farm rescue.

USDA expects to announce row-crop rates in November and decide how to pay other producers later. Any payment to fishermen may not come until well into 2027, the association said. But it said data USDA receives before it settles on a method is the most likely to shape it.

The guide walks fishermen through the math: this year's average price per gallon, minus the 2023-2025 average, times this year's gallons. In the association's example, a boat paying $7.85 a gallon against a $5.70 baseline, across 4,000 gallons, shows $8,600 in added fuel cost.

Fishermen don't have to fill out every line, the association said. Fuel prices and volumes with a few receipts are more useful than nothing.

Because records emailed to a federal agency can be requested under the Freedom of Information Act, the guide advises marking each page confidential and leaving out Social Security numbers, full bank and card numbers, and crew members' personal information. Knowingly false statements to a federal agency are a crime, it notes.

It recommends setting up a Login.gov account now. USDA has said producers with an account linked to the agency will get pre-filled applications online.