Aquaculture Financial Assistance

After a Presidential Disaster Declaration is signed, individuals and farms should contact the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) at 1-800-621-3362 or visit the FEMA's Disaster Assistance website to apply for assistance and receive a FEMA application number. Once an application is processed, further assistance will be available at Disaster Recovery Centers. Federal, state and local representatives will be available at the centers to assist with recovery.

The following programs may be available to assist your aquaculture business with recovery efforts:

• Disaster Unemployment Assistance: Individuals not covered by regular state or private unemployment insurance may be eligible for unemployment benefits that can be provided until an individual is re-employed or up to 26 weeks after the major disaster is declared (whichever is shorter).
• Farm Service Agency: Offers low-interest disaster loans to farmers, ranchers and agricultural operators for physical or production losses. Loans of up to 80 percent of actual production loss or 100 percent of the actual physical loss, with a maximum indebtedness of $500,000, may be made to the tenant or owner.
• Small Business Administration (SBA): Offers low-interest loans to individuals and businesses for refinancing, repair, rehabilitation or replacement of damaged property (real and personal).

Hurricanes

For more aquaculture-specific information on preparation for and recovery from hurricanes, please see our Preparation and Recovery From Hurricanes Technical Bulletin (#2) [ 1.2 MB ] .

• Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees and Farm-Raised Fish Program (ELAP): Provides emergency assistance to eligible producers of livestock, honeybees and farm-raised fish.
• Florida Office of Insurance Regulation: Provides assistance and information to resolve insurance claims.
• U.S. Department of Agriculture's Crop and Livestock Insurance: Provides a range of resources to help agricultural businesses identify and acquire appropriate insurance policies.
• USDA's Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP): Provides financial assistance to producers of noninsurable crops to protect against natural disasters that result in lower yields or crop losses or prevent crop planting. Eligible aquacultural species are: any species of aquatic organisms grown as food for human consumption, fish raised as feed for fish that are consumed by humans, and ornamental fish propagated and reared in an aquatic medium. Application and program details are available online or by contacting your county Farm Service Agency office.

There are no state or federal loan programs structured specifically to assist aquaculturists. However, programs are available to assist agribusinesses and small businesses through loans or loan guarantees with existing financial institutions.

You may also wish to contact chambers of commerce, regional planning councils and small business development centers (the last are usually associated with community colleges) to find out if there are programs available in your region rather than statewide. Because programs and funding levels change frequently, we are listing sources of information and not program descriptions.

"Fresh From Florida"

The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services' Division of Marketing and Development promotes Florida products and facilitates agricultural commerce through a variety of programs and initiatives, including the Florida Agricultural Promotional Campaign, the “Fresh from Florida” Industry Program and the “Fresh from Florida” Logo Incentive Program.

For more information on these resources and how to join, see “Fresh from Florida” Industry Membership.

Additional Marketing Resources

The following fact sheets are useful in identifying markets and marketing strategies for your aquaculture business.

• FAO: Handling, Processing and Marketing of Aquaculture Products
• Small Scale Marketing of Aquaculture Products (SRAC 350)[ ]
• Small Scale Marketing of Aquaculture Products
• UF/IFAS: Harvesting and Marketing Cultured Oysters

For a summary of potential sales tax exemptions, see Sales Tax Exemptions for Aquaculture Businesses [ 380 kB ] .

Agricultural “Greenbelt” Property Tax Classification

By having their property classified as agricultural for property tax purposes, farmers receive reductions in their property tax bills. To learn more about agricultural property tax classification, contact your property appraiser.