Millions Secured for Galilee; Press Conference Friday

Release courtesy the office of U.S. Senator Jack Reed.

In an effort to help spur business activity, create jobs and boost Rhode Island’s fishing industry, U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse and U.S. Representative Jim Langevin will join Governor Lincoln Chafee, a key official from the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA), and local leaders Friday, March 1st at 10 a.m. to announce a major investment to help modernize the Port of Galilee.

The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management is receiving a competitive federal economic development grant from EDA to rehabilitate critical infrastructure at the Port of Galilee.

An agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce, EDA makes investments in economically distressed communities in order to create jobs for U.S. workers, promote American innovation, and accelerate long-term sustainable economic growth.

The Port of Galilee is one of the largest working commercial fishing ports on the East Coast, providing fish, squid, and lobster to both national and international markets.  The Port is also a popular destination for tourists and an essential part of Narragansett’s economy and character, as well as the state and regional economy.

The Port, which is owned by the State of Rhode Island and managed by DEM, supports hundreds of small to medium size businesses.  It includes 38 docks and piers, and is home to more than 240 commercial fishing vessels.

According to a Commercial Fisheries Research Foundation report, the annual value of sales associated with fish landed by Rhode Island vessels is about $200 million and nearly 7,000 people are employed catching, processing, distributing, and selling the fish harvested by Rhode Island vessels.

WHO: U.S. Senator Jack Reed, U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, U.S. Representative Jim Langevin, Governor Lincoln Chafee, the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Economic Development for the U.S. Economic Development Administration Matt S. Erskine, Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management Director Janet Coit, and Town of Narragansett Council President James Callaghan.

WHEN: Friday, March 1 at 10 a.m.

WHERE: the press conference will take place on the loading dock at Town Dock, overlooking the pier at 45 State Street in Galilee (Narragansett).