The NOAA Fisheries Finance Program (FFP) is a direct government loan program that receives
an annual loan authority from Congress to provide long-term loans to the commercial fishing and
aquaculture industries.
Eligible Projects include: Aquaculture & Mariculture Facilities • Purchase existing facility •
Acquisition of facility equipment or improvements • New construction • Reconstruction; Fishing
Vessels • Purchase existing vessel • Acquisition of vessel equipment • Reconstruction that
doesn't materially increase harvesting capacity • Upgrades to improve collection and reporting of
fisheries data, to reduce bycatch, to improve selectivity or reduce adverse impacts of fishing
gear, or to improve safety; Fisheries Shoreside Facilities • Purchase existing facility •
Acquisition of facility equipment or improvements • New construction • Reconstruction; Federal
Harvesting Rights • Purchases involving harvesting rights in federally managed limited access
systems. The program can also refinance existing debt that originated for the above purposes.
Program Benefits: Long-term, fixed rate loans with interest rates 2 percent over the U.S.
Treasury's cost of funds • Loan maturities up to 25 years, but not exceeding the economic useful
life of a project • Program loans may be prepaid at any time without penalty.
Additional Facts: There is no minimum or maximum NOAA FFP loan amount, however, the
loan amount cannot exceed 80 percent of the eligible project cost. The only constraint is the
amount of loan authority Congress authorizes for the Program on an annual basis, and the annual
loan priorities. • Most financing available to the fishing industry restricts the term to meet the
needs of the financial institution not the fisheries borrower. Additionally, most available
financing is variable rate rather than fixed rate. • NOAA's FFP financing considers the useful life
of the fishery asset in determining the term and establishes a fixed rate for the term of the loan.
• A fixed rate can save money and will stabilize cash flows. The increased term allows an
operation to repay the loan over the earnings life of the fishery asset. • Individuals must be U.S.
citizens. • Businesses must be at least 75 percent U.S.-owned. • Good earnings record, net worth,
and liquidity behind project. • Fully secured with borrower's assets.• Guarantees and additional
collateral may be required.• Good credit record. • Strong primary collateral. • The loan applicant
should have at least a 3-year history of owning or operating a fisheries project or a 3-year history
owning or operating a comparable project.