Peltola, Sullivan Clash Over 60% U.S. Seafood Share in Alaska Senate Race
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Oct 6
Peltola, Sullivan Clash Over 60% U.S. Seafood Share in Alaska Senate Race
3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Oct 6
Summary
Mary Peltola has made a ban on out-of-state trawlers a centerpiece of Alaska’s Senate race, accusing incumbent Dan Sullivan of favoring Seattle-based factory fleets over local families and rivers.
Dan Sullivan counters that he has pushed measures to curb salmon and halibut bycatch, including a Senate Commerce Committee-approved bill last month requiring more escape-friendly nets, tighter monitoring and gear research.
Roughly three-quarters of Alaskans support a trawling ban in one recent poll, reflecting anger that outside operators profit while salmon collapses have slashed subsistence harvests on the Kuskokwim to 32,500 fish in 2024 from 67,000-110,000 historically.
Science and economics complicate the fight: researchers say ending trawling bycatch would return only a single-digit share of salmon to western rivers, while fishermen warn broad restrictions could further damage communities already hit by weak prices, high fuel costs and labor shortages.
Alaska supplies about 60% of U.S. wild seafood, making fisheries a potent political issue in a state where climate change, foreign competition and dependence on out-of-state capital are colliding.