Posted on 03/19/2025 8:03:45 AM PDT by Oldeconomybuyer
BREMEN, Maine (AP) — Commercial fishermen and seafood processors looking to switch to new, lower-carbon emission systems say the federal funding they relied on for this work is either frozen or unavailable due to significant budget cuts promoted by President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency.
The changes are designed to replace old diesel-burning engines and outdated at-sea cooling systems and are touted by environmentalists as a way to reduce seafood’s carbon footprint.
Decarbonization of the fishing fleet has been a target of environmental activists in recent years.
That is far less than agriculture, but still a significant piece of the worldwide emissions puzzle. With Earth experiencing worsening storms and its hottest year on record in 2024, reducing the burning of fossil fuels is critical.
But climate-friendly projects often cost tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars, leading fishermen to seek U.S. Department of Agriculture or Environmental Protection Agency funds to cover some costs. DOGE, a commission assembled to cut federal spending, has targeted both agencies for cutbacks.
That has left fishermen like Robert Buchmayr of Seattle on the hook for huge bills. Buchmayr said he is nearing completion of a refrigeration project for a salmon boat and was counting on a $45,000 USDA grant to pay for a chunk of it. The agency told him last month the funding is on hold until further notice, he said.
“I’m scrambling, where does the money come from. I was counting on the grant,” Buchmayr said. “I was under the impression that if you got a grant from the United States, it was a commitment. Nothing in the letter was saying, ‘Yes, we’ll guarantee you the funds depending on who is elected.’”
The full extent of the cuts is unclear, and fishermen affected by them described the situation as chaotic and confusing.
(Excerpt) Read more at apnews.com ...
Women and children hurt the most.
Do your jobs and get off the government teat.
Go fish.
Gee, if the investment would yield cost savings and higher profit they would do it themselves. Why do they need the Federal dollars? 🤔🤔🤔
Good. Gaia is not real.
Just catch fish , Green = Scam
Good fishermen catch fish, period. There job is not to ‘save the environment’, nor take funds for not fishing.
Ap pushing more global warming crap. Really tiresome.
Robert Buchmayr of Seattle on the hook for huge bills.
Seattle is a long way from Bremen Maine where this story is bylined.
Maine fisherman all support DOGE as they the hard working Mainers who do suck on the government teat.
lol. This stuff is hilarious.
Are the fish transgender? Need to work that in.
AP is such a joke.
Well it looks like they won’t be able to go green.
Yeah, I’d like a new more efficient greener transmission for one of our vehicles but can’t find any federal program for that......
You know the old saying:
Give a man a federal grant and he’ll eat for a fiscal year; teach a man to fish for federal grants and he’ll eat forever.
Sorry Charlie!
So, do it at your own expense. Don’t expect a Tax payout.
“Commercial fishermen and seafood processors looking to switch to new, lower-carbon emission systems...”
“Fishermen want to go green” ... stopped reading right there ...
Nice try AP, but I’m calling b*llsh*t on your story.
How many of these “fishermen” pull down money from the USAID slush fund? One of Soros’ groups?
The ACTUAL NE fishermen hate everything these groups have done to their industry.
Did the ASS Press fart checkers check the accuracy of this BS. Were the “fisherman” just whining liberals or paid actors?
“Yeah....this new green system was working really really well”
....when feds paid for it
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