With the start of the 2018 hurricane season, timely and reliable information is critical to guide effective operations for emergency preparedness, response and recovery. Agencies across the U.S. Department of Commerce, including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Census Bureau, the Economic Development Administration, the National Telecommunications and Information...

Today, in conjunction with the requests put forward by the Governors of Florida, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico, Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross determined catastrophic fishery disasters occurred in the areas because of impacts from Hurricanes Irma and Maria that made landfall in August and September of 2017. Under the Interjurisdictional Fisheries Act and the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery...