Saving Seafood

ALASKA: Alaska gubernatorial hopefuls Dunleavy, Begich square off in fish survey

November 1, 2018 — If Republican candidate Mike Dunleavy wins his bid to become the next governor of Alaska on Tuesday, look for an all-out effort by the state to expand its seafood export markets but not a direct challenge of president Donald Trump’s tough trade policies.

“A governor of one state clearly doesn’t set trade policy for the nation,” he said in one of several responses to a survey on commercial fishing organized by the Kodiak Chamber of Commerce.

Democratic candidate Mark Begich, meanwhile, would bring together a bipartisan group of governors from other states to pressure the federal government into changing course.

“As governor, I won’t sit on the sidelines when national policies hurt Alaska, like Trump’s trade war with China,” he said.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

Alaska seafood leaders talk tariffs, competition from Russia and Canada

October 31, 2018 — Mark Begich, Alaska’s Democratic gubernatorial candidate, made a cameo at the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute’s All Hands on Deck meeting in Anchorage this week.

“If you want to be successful, you’ve got to put money behind it and market the product,” Begich said in support of the ASMI mission during opening remarks on Monday, Oct. 29.

Despite the too-close-to-call governor’s race, tariffs are the leading topic at the meeting this week.

Alaska’s seafood industry enjoyed a record export total in 2017 of more than 1 billion pounds of seafood with expectations that the trend would continue. However, the complex matrix of Alaska seafood’s global markets and international processing was further complicated by the implementation of several new layers of export and import tariffs on varying products.

Alaska’s proximity to China has long allowed a significant portion of the head and gut fleets’ harvest to be exported to China for final processing and reimportation to the domestic market.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

 

Diving deep into Alaska fisheries with gubernatorial candidate Mark Begich

October 31, 2018 — “With fisheries, it’s almost the forgotten resource of our state as an economic driver. It’s almost like they are an afterthought. We have to realign that,” said Mark Begich, Democratic candidate for Alaska governor, in an interview during his trip to Kodiak last week.

Begich came to Kodiak despite the cancellation of the Oct. 22 fisheries debate caused by a no-show by his Republican opponent, Mike Dunleavy, who has not responded to requests to share his ideas and vision for one of Alaska’s oldest industries.

Begich spoke easily and at length on a wide range of fishing industry topics.

He called state funding for fisheries research and stock assessments a top priority.

“We are never going to be able to manage our fisheries resource the proper way without it. And I think there are opportunities through federal, state as well as foundation money that I believe is out there to help us do this,” he said.

Begich said he is a strong supporter of Alaska’s hatchery program.

“I know there is some conversation going on about hatchery fish impacts in the ocean … but there is no real science around that and the hatcheries have been very successful for us as a state,” he said.

In terms of selecting an Alaska Department of Fish and Game commissioner, Begich said good management skills and the ability to bring people together are critical.

“People are frustrated. They feel like their voice isn’t heard. We need commissioners who are willing to step up to the plate and recognize that it’s their job to bring people together, solve problems and move forward,” Begich said. “Obviously, I would want him or her to be knowledgeable about fisheries. We need someone who understands the controversies that are out there, the uniqueness of our resource, and how to balance it with making sure we do things for the long term and not for the moment.”

Read the full story at the Anchorage Daily News

 

Alaska Governor Bill Walker withdraws from race, former opponent Mike Dunleavy opposes salmon protections

October 24, 2018 — With U.S. election day on 6 November just around the corner, Alaska Governor Bill Walker  shocked the state on 19 October by dropping out of his race for reelection.

Walker, an independent, said he realized he would not be able to win a three-way race, and has endorsed the Democratic candidate – former U.S. Senator Mark Begich – who faces former Republican State Senator Mike Dunleavy. Though Walker’s name will still be on the ballot, he urged supporters to vote for Begich.

“Alaskans deserve a choice other than Mike Dunleavy,” Walker said.

Walker was set to debate Begich in a debate over commercial fishing on Monday, but with Walker pulling out of the race, the debate organized by the Kodiak Chamber of Commerce was canceled.

Dunleavy would not have appeared at the event anyway, which would have made him the first gubernatorial candidate in 27 years not to attend the historic debate. Instead, Dunleavy said he was “visiting with Alaskans in Barrow.”

Read the full story at Seafood Source

 

Alaska gubernatorial fishing debate called off after incumbent’s surprise exit

October 23, 2018 — Mark Begich, the Democratic candidate for Alaska governor, will not appear on a stage in Kodiak Monday evening to discuss his positions related to the state’s commercial fisheries.

Following Friday’s surprise announcement by incumbent Bill Walker that he was pulling out of the 2018 race, the planned debate has been cancelled, confirms Frank Schiro, executive director of the Kodiak Chamber of Commerce.

Walker, an independent, used the Alaska Federation of Natives Convention, in Anchorage, on Friday, to announce that he would be leaving the four-way contest. He explained that his decision was based on the promise he made in his campaign to keep “Alaska first” and give Begich a better chance at beating Republican challenger Mike Dunleavy.

With the Nov. 6 election day looming, Walker, based on the latest polls taken two weeks ago, had just 27.0% of the Alaska vote while Democrat Mark Begich had 22.6% and Republican challenger Mike Dunleavy had 46.5%. Walker also has a Libertarian challenger, William S. “Billy” Toien, though he was not featured in the poll.

Only 3.9% of respondents were undecided, and the poll had a 4.4% margin of error.

On Friday, Walker, a former Republican, said he didn’t believe 18 days were enough for him to turn things around.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News