Sen. plans bill to help seafood workers

U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) plans on introducing a bill that may help seafood workers on the Gulf Coast after a devastating season due to the 114-plus day opening of the Bonnet Carré Spillway along the Mississippi River in Louisiana, and the invasion of algae bloom in the Mississippi Sound. Sen. Hyde-Smith plans on introducing the Commercial Fishing and Aquaculture Protection Act of 2019, a bill that would establish a revenue-based disaster program to “either replace or serve as an alternative to the fishery disaster relief provided by the Department of Commerce. If the bill is given the thumbs-up, industry workers who qualify would receive a payout of 85 percent of the average total gross revenue for three previous years, minus actual total gross revenue during the loss year. (Source: Sun Herald 07/23/19)