Gov. Mike Dunleavy has introduced new legislation aimed at enhancing food security and fostering economic growth by permitting finfish farming in Alaska.
Currently, Alaska law strictly prohibits finfish farming, except for private nonprofit salmon hatcheries. However, House Bill 111 (HB 111), introduced on Friday, would grant the commissioner of the Department of Fish and Game—working in consultation with the commissioner of the Department of Environmental Conservation—the authority to permit the cultivation and sale of specific finfish species in inland, closed-system water bodies.
The proposed legislation includes several key provisions:
- Sterile Fish Only: All finfish farmed under the permit must be sterilized triploids, ensuring they cannot reproduce.
- Salmon Prohibition: The bill prohibits the cultivation of pink, chum, sockeye, coho, chinook, and Atlantic salmon.
- Secure Containment: Finfish farms must be enclosed within natural or artificial escape-proof barriers.
- Private Stocking for Personal Use: Individuals may stock private lakes with finfish for personal consumption without a permit, provided the lake is enclosed within an escape-proof barrier.
“This legislation is a continuation of my administration’s efforts to grow Alaska’s food security by creating a new fish farming industry,” Governor Dunleavy stated. “Alaska can join other regions of the world by raising fish that can be sold and consumed here in Alaska and be available for export. This legislation will yield new jobs, economic growth, and a new food source for all Alaskans.”
The economic potential of finfish farming is substantial. According to the USDA’s 2023 Aquaculture Census, food fish aquaculture sales reached $819.6 million nationwide. While catfish made up more than half of that value, trout ranked second, followed by tilapia. If enacted, HB 111 could position Alaska to tap into this growing industry while maintaining environmental safeguards.
The bill will now move to the state legislature for consideration, where it is expected to generate debate among lawmakers, environmental advocates, and the fishing industry. If approved, it could mark a significant shift in Alaska’s approach to aquaculture and food production.
Very serious sideboards needed here.
Why does my gut tell me that this is a bad idea?
I’d rather dig brown trout out of the out house then eat farmed fish.. KMA Dunleavy
Right.
Farmed fish eat each others’ feces.
At the most basic level, everything in the water bathes in everything else’s bodily fluids. So what? Tell me something I don’t know.
Fish farming (onshore and offshore) is coming like a freight train. You can either be on the train or under it. Your only choice is how completely you guys will destroy all the wild runs of salmon up here before you are ground into economic dust for choosing a protectionist economic model. The longer you take to embrace farming, the fewer non-commfish friends, former supporters, you will have when the time comes to help you move.
Move early or move late. But you are going to move. Cheers –
I like fish ranching better
That’s what we are doing with pinks in PWS. The problem is that the 2 billion pink fry yearly dumped into the North Pacific is wiping out the biomass and the other salmon species because pinks out compete them for available food. Cheers –
It’s time to really research, think about this and look at the possibilities, not be closed minded.
The commercial fishers in Alaska have us thinking we have to stop fish farming, can never let it happen, and start the uproar.
Throw some new science on the table, let’s take a look!
We have to look to the future, a way to feed our future generations.
No thanks, we all ready have surplus wild salmon.
Every year the value of commercial caught fish goes lower, with inflation its a dramatic decrease.
Spend the effort protecting and enhancing our wild stocks.
reed says: “No thanks, we all ready have surplus wild salmon.”
No thanks, we all ready have surplus wild salmon that we are destroying by dumping a couple billion pink fry into PWS every year. – There, fixed it for you.
Everything except kings, which are rapidly going the way of the dodo. They are now followed by silvers and chum in PWS and shrinking fish weights statewide. Wild runs statewide are in big trouble and all you can do is stick your fingers in your ears and sing la la la la la la while they are destroyed. Cheers –
This creates a new industry employed by few and will not help our wild fish market. Never thought I see the day our governor pushed 2nd class farmed fish.
Great!
Alaskan tilapia! mmmmm
/sarc
I see no good coming from this.
Regrettably it is being proposed because of the inability of the ADF&G and the Board of Fisheries to set policy and properly manage the Chinook and Chum Fisheries.
The people who have depended on those fisheries have been Let down by the State for far too Long. So instead of making hard decisions in order to achieve the constitutional mandate of managing for sustained yield, the Governor now thinks Alaska should start fish farms. But not for the species that Alaskans have been depending on for centuries. So it is just a feeble attempt to pacify those who have been deprived while not addressing the problem with our wild stocks.
And the best goes on!
Hopefully the legislature will
see through this misguided approach and show it the door!
This is a great start. It gives commfish a way out of the box canyon they’ve managed to create for themselves. Move commfish to onshore or offshore fish farming, ditch the nets and ocean ranching and we might actually see a return to runs of natural fish. Next on the list would be reversing the ban on fish traps.
Good start, Governor. But it is just a start. Cheers –
When ever I read your opinion on commercial fishing I wonder. Is it based on total distain for rural Alaska or lack of understanding of the industry.
I wonder if there was a lobby pushing for this or just something the governor thought of. Can indoor fish farming in Alaska compete with fish farms in other locations. As a food source and food security the state has plenty of pink salmon available far cheaper than you will be able to farm a fish. Will be interesting to see where this goes.
You guys have a choice. You can either choose to compete in the global marketplace for salmon, a marketplace that today has 75%+ of all salmon sold from onshore / offshore fish farming or you can let that marketplace grind your economic model into dust.
The problem with waiting is that you will destroy all the wild runs while flailing away trying to save a protectionist business model. Kings were first. Silvers and chum are next with reds not far behind as demonstrated by shrinking fish sizes the past few years. And as you destroy the wild runs, you alienate former supporters like you have me.
Your cheap pinks are busily destroying the food carrying ability of the North Pacific and along with it wild runs in PWS, Cook Inlet and Southeast. They haven’t made it to Bristol Bay yet, but have done enough damage that the fish sizes are shrinking, which should worry you.
The fish farming train is coming. Either be on it or be under it, for you aren’t gonna stop it. Cheers –
You’re joking right? How about looking into the study on the fish farms located at the mouths of rivers that are spawning ground for anadromous fish. These “offshore” fish farms are killing wild fish. They’re full of disease and problems.
‘https://watershedwatch.ca/stories/fish-farms-kill/
I think this is a very bad idea I vote no!
Bad idea! I wonder what RFK thinks of this. It takes tons of chemicals to operate a successful fish farm and they are an eyesore to boot.
I do not understand this. How can you have a farm if the fish can’t reproduce?
No farmed fish here..Regardless how you protect and have the safest regards, you can have all the protections in place, but there ARE ALWAYS ways and incidences of escapes..Once it happens it’s TOO-O LATE FOR OUR ALASKAN RAISED FISH. Remember how the Northern Pike came up here.. We’re STILL having problems with them.We already have evasive fish here in AK ruining our fish stocks up here..Once here, You can’t get rid of them.
And absolutely NO Pike species of any sort
ok cool so you can farm talapia in Huslia now.
As long as high seas trawlers are allowed by NOAA to rape the seas and as long as Alaskans continue to deny the reality that farming is a viable revenue generating industry, fishing in Alaska is dead. Gambling on the ‘wild fish’ horse—- did not work.
Nature always finds a way. There is no man made “barrier” to keep the farmed fish isolated. What has happened to our Governor? There must be moles in his administration to come up with this and carbon capture!
Onshore RAS systems are completely isolated. Cheers –
This is a horrible idea. Must be someone in his ear that stands to make a lot of money if this happens.
What?? We fought this horrific idea 30+ years ago. Is he crazy?? This should get him the boot or at least recalled. Our beautiful fish destroyed by short sighted politicians can’t happen. Have you seen how fish farming works??? Grey and ugly diseased beasties that have to be fed coloring agents to make them palatable and disguise how fake they are. Yum.
Comments are closed.