Saving Seafood

ALASKA: Alaska Governor Dunleavy Asked to Declare Federal Disaster for Southcentral Salmon Fisheries

September 20, 2024 — Alaska State Representative Sara Vance, from Homer, sent a letter to Governor Mike Dunleavy earlier this week asking him to declare the 2024 fisheries for salmon, particularly pink salmon, a federal disaster.

“The unprecedented low return of pink salmon has left many fishermen without income, while others are burdened with significant debt from this disastrous season,” Vance wrote. “For those whose livelihoods depend on the salmon harvest, this is an economic crisis with profound and far-reaching impacts.”

Statewide pink salmon harvests have reached 37.8 million fish to date, or 55% of a pre-season forecast of 69 million.

Read the full article at Seafoodnews.com

ALASKA: Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy vetoes bill providing ASMI USD 10 million in funding

July 8, 2024 — Mike Dunleavy, the governor of the U.S. state of Alaska, has once again vetoed a bill funding the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute (ASMI).

ASMI, which works to promote Alaska seafood, is supported by state funding, but Dunleavy used a line-item veto in the state’s 2025 budget bill to deny it USD 10 million (EUR 9.2 million) on 4 July. Dunleavy indicated he may seek to restore the funding via a supplemental budget bill if ASMI submits a detailed spending plan.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

ALASKA: Alaska commercial fishers will only pay to register vessels once under pending bill

May 23, 2024 — Alaska’s commercial vessel owners will no longer be required to pay for registration with two separate state agencies, under a bill passed by the state Legislature.

House Bill 19, which creates the exemption for boat owners, passed the House and Senate on May 15 and is waiting for Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s signature.

If made law, as long as a vessel has a valid certificate of documentation from the U.S. Coast Guard and a vessel license through the state’s Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission, then the registration fee is waived. Currently boat owners pay a $24 registration fee at the Division of Motor Vehicles for powered boats.

When Rep. Louise Stutes, R-Kodiak, introduced the legislation in committee last year, she said it addresses excess licensing fees from the DMV. She said that certain state laws created more hindrances for commercial fishers in Alaska and she wants to remove the duplication.

Read the full article at Alaska Public Media

State of Alaska files motion against feds over control of fishery management

September 6, 2023 — Gov. Mike Dunleavy made it clear at a press conference on Friday just how crucial a motion filed by the State of Alaska is for the future of fisheries conservation in Alaska.

Dunleavy, along with Alaska Attorney General Treg Taylor and Alaska Department of Fish and Game Commissioner Doug Vincent-Lang, spoke to the press for about 15 minutes in Anchorage about the state’s motion to reject a lawsuit brought by the federal government over the state’s management of fisheries on the Kuskokwim River.

“What I want the people of Alaska to understand is we didn’t choose this fight, the feds forced it on us,” Dunleavy said. “The stakes obviously couldn’t be higher because this really has to do with management of our fisheries and potentially down the road game as well. [It] has to do with sovereignty over our waters.”

The state is arguing the federal government does not have the authority to manage the fishery on the Kuskokwim because the Kuskokwim River is not public land.

Read the full article at Web Center Fairbanks

ALASKA: Alaska Gov. Dunleavy names ad consultant, talk show host Porcaro to commercial fisheries agency

August 26, 2023 — Alaska Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy has appointed a GOP advertising consultant and talk show host to a highly paid state government job: a position overseeing commercial fishing permits.

Dunleavy this month appointed Mike Porcaro as one of two commissioners overseeing the Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission, or CFEC — an obscure, Juneau-based agency with some 20 employees.

The commission issues annual commercial fishing permits, grants and denies permit transfers in the event of illnesses and deaths and publishes fisheries reports and statistics.

Porcaro is a Dunleavy ally whose communications firm has worked for the governor’s campaigns, and who has hosted the governor as a guest on his talk radio show.

Porcaro will work remotely from his home in Anchorage, continue hosting his daily radio program from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. and run his advertising agency outside work hours, he said.

Porcaro’s new job would pay $136,000 a year if he works full time, but he may work less than that and will only be compensated for the hours he reports having worked, said Glenn Haight, CFEC’s other commissioner.

Read the full article at Anchorage Daily News 

ALASKA: Dunleavy, Peltola seek federal relief after failure of Alaska crab fisheries

November 11, 2022 — Gov. Mike Dunleavy has requested a federal disaster declaration and U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola has requested $250 million in relief funding after the failure of this year’s Bering Sea snow crab and Bristol Bay red king crab fisheries.

Peltola asked Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and the chair of the House Appropriations Committee to include relief funding for crab fishermen and the crabbing industry in Congress’ year-end appropriation bill.

Disaster relief funding could be available if Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo declares a fisheries disaster, and a day after Peltola’s request, Dunleavy formally requested that Raimondo declare a disaster.

Read the full article at Petersburg Pilot

ALASKA: Governor requests fishery disaster determination for snow, red king crab

October 26, 2022 — Gov. Mike Dunleavy has requested that the United States Department of Commerce expedite a disaster declaration for the 2022-2023 Bristol Bay red king crab and Bering Sea snow crab fisheries.

Dunleavy asked via a letter to the U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo for the declaration in accordance with Section 312(a) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act and Section 308(b) of the Interjurisdictional Fisheries Act. Dunleavy also asked Raimondo to expedite a disaster determination for the 2021-2022 Bristol Bay red king crab fishery season.

Read the full article at Alaska News Source

ALASKA: At Kodiak fisheries debate, Gara and Walker find common ground while Dunleavy is a no-show

October 7, 2022 — At a forum on fishery issues held in the seaport town of Kodiak, two of the leading gubernatorial contenders spent time focusing on a man who was not there: incumbent Gov. Mike Dunleavy.

After about an hour of in-depth discussions of fishery issues that included climate change and its effects in the oceans, the role of hatchery fish in the ecosystem and economy, the infrastructure and workforce development needs of the fishing industry and state fiscal policies, former state Rep. Les Gara and former Gov. Bill Walker turned their fire directly on Dunleavy.

The Republican incumbent, who failed to attend, has shirked too many debates, showing a lack of regard for Alaska voters, they argued.

“You have to wonder about somebody who won’t share their ideas with you. You have to wonder about somebody who won’t come to listen with you,” Gara, a Democrat, said in his closing remarks. “If he doesn’t have the courtesy to show up at over 90% of the debates, then he’s got ideas that he doesn’t want to share with people.”

“I am running for governor because Alaska needs someone that will show up…someone who will represent not just their political donors but the entire state,” Walker, an independent, said in his summary remarks. “You can tell how hard someone will work as governor based on how hard they work to become governor. And this governor has not.”

In contrast to their disdain for Dunleavy, Gara and Walker expressed support for each other at the fishery forum, as they have done elsewhere. They urged voters to mark both their names in Alaska’s new ranked-choice system.

The Kodiak Chamber of Commerce has been hosting fishery forums for the past 30 years, and in the past the events were seen as musts for serious candidates seeking statewide office. They are considered the only election forums focused specifically on fisheries.

But in 2018, Dunleavy declined to go, and that year’s gubernatorial fishery forum wound up canceled.

Read the full article at the Petersburg Pilot