After months of protests from the region's fishermen about the lack of support as oil prices have risen, the Government yesterday announced the money had been secured from the European Commission to help keep the industry afloat.
However, critics said the money, though welcome, had come too late for many businesses which had already been sunk by rising costs.
The European Commission approved the UK's plans for awarding European Fisheries Fund (EFF) grants worth up to £60 million in total, but ministers have made a special case for Cornwall to secure ring-fenced money.
Government funding will almost double England's original £34 million share of the UK's EFF allocation but Cornish fishermen stand to benefit to the tune of £7 million.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said the grants would help provide the financial backing for the fishing industry to adapt to higher fuel costs. They would also offer a cash injection to modernise boats and help put the industry on a more sustainable footing and able to compete with foreign boats.
Officials insisted the money was not a one-off bail-out to subsidise high fuel bills but a long-term investment in the industry.
Fisheries minister Jonathan Shaw said efforts would be stepped up to ensure the grants were not wasted. "This is a significant amount of money and we need to make the best possible use of it to benefit the industry long-term," he said.
"A big chunk will be available to help the fishing industry adapt to higher fuel prices as well as helping it become more sustainable, and we are now pressing ahead with the scheme."
The funding is available for a range of projects including measures to modernise fishing vessels such as reducing discards, improving gear selectivity and minimising the environmental impact.
Mick Mahon, a fisherman from Newlyn, near Penzance, said it was "about time" money was found.
"I am very sceptical about these things," he said. "It is rather late in the day. You only have to look at Newlyn and the way the fleet has been decimated down here."
He said the money would have little impact unless the quota system was overhauled to put UK fleets on a par with other European countries.
Hundreds of fishermen descended on Defra's London HQ this summer to urge ministers to come up with an aid package for a "desperate" industry, including up to 60 from Newlyn, Padstow, Looe, Bideford and Ilfracombe.
Details of how to apply are available from www.mfa.gov.uk/grants/grants.htm
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