What steps would you take to help restore depleted salmon populations and ensure salmon runs remain strong in Alaska?
Governor
Bill Walker
Nonpartisan candidate for Governor
We will work to restore depleted salmon populations and ensure strong and sustainable fisheries across Alaska in three main ways:
1. Bycatch is a waste of good fish, and it’s happening at an unacceptable rate. Alaskans feel the impacts of salmon, halibut, crab and herring bycatch — subsistence, commercial, personal use and sport harvesters are all being harmed. The state of Alaska should be aggressive in funding science to seek and enact solutions. Short-term, we will appoint officials committed to bycatch solutions at the Department of Fish and Game, and we will appoint bycatch-focused Alaska members of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council, where many bycatch allocation decisions are made. Long-term, we will bring together stakeholders to identify and implement policies that will truly value one of our most precious resources here in Alaska — our fish.
2. There is no single reason behind the collapse of salmon runs, but one major contributing factor is climate change and associated ocean warming and acidification. We will invest in aggressive scientific research to get to the root of the problem and to identify any necessary actions for the state of Alaska to enact locally or support globally.
3. We will explore the possibility of expanding Alaska’s jurisdictional boundary from the current 3 miles offshore to 12 miles. Several Gulf Coast states have limits greater than 3 miles, and we will explore the pros and cons of such an expansion here in Alaska.
Charlie Pierce
Republican candidate for Governor
Case in point: I was at the Kodiak Crab Fest this year, and there was no crab! Our depleted ocean harvests are killing our coastal communities. I would do everything I could to restrict the trawler bycatch that’s killing millions and millions of our fish. Outside of state waters, I’d work closely and urgently with the federal government to shut down this annihilation of the ocean’s harvest. We need to return to true science on this issue. It’s been a political football for too long. We used to have more biologists who truly studied this problem; now we’re just making assumptions about what’s causing our fisheries to decline, and one group blames the other. What’s the science? We need to hire the best biologists and make our predictions based on real data.
Les Gara
Democratic candidate for Governor
We have to make sure we move ahead with responsible development, but not irresponsible development like the Pebble mine. Pebble threatens the world’s greatest remaining salmon runs. I oppose that project. Gov. Dunleavy supports it and has sued on behalf of its Canadian mine owners.
I don’t believe in trading mines for fish, but do support responsible mining, and Alaska has a current history of operating mines that is responsible.
We have to stop the excessive killing of fish by Outside factory trawlers, which the governor’s nominees have allowed. Killing over 1,000 tons of halibut and 500,000 chum salmon in just the Bering Sea is irresponsible.
We have to act to continue to protect the clean water needed for vibrant fisheries. I believe in building renewable energy across the state to help stem global warming, which is harming our fisheries. And we have to do the fishery studies we need to, to protect fish and adopt smart management.
We should also listen to those who fish for a living, including subsistence fishermen in smaller communities, as we adopt smart policy.
(Editor’s note: The governor is responsible for nominating five of the 11 voting members of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council, which regulates fishery bycatch. The commissioner of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game is also a voting member. They make management decisions based on 10 national standards. They have taken recent action on halibut bycatch and make requests of industry to informally address bycatch, such as this one regarding chum salmon.)
Mike Dunleavy
Republican candidate for Governor
One of the foundations for statehood in Alaska was protecting our salmon runs, and I take that responsibility seriously as governor. Harvesting our wild salmon is an Alaskan way of life, and the restrictions on salmon fishing on the Yukon and Kuskokwim rivers in recent years must be addressed. That’s why I formed a Bycatch Review Task Force to evaluate all the available science and deliver management recommendations that will address both man-made and natural causes impacting our salmon runs. The life cycle and range of chum and chinook salmon span years and thousands of miles from fresh water to the ocean, and no magic bullet can solve this problem in the near term. We will continue to put every resource available into the research of salmon habitat and how we can enhance productivity. We will take every measure necessary to ensure that man-made impacts such as bycatch are not negatively impacting Alaskan salmon runs.