Speaker Bryce Edgmon and Rep. Louise Stutes have come out strongly against Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s bill that would allow a limited amount of fish farming in Alaska.
Last Friday, Governor Mike Dunleavy introduced House Bill 111, legislation aimed at reversing Alaska’s absolute ban on fish farms. The bill has sparked immediate debate among lawmakers and stakeholders in the state’s fishing industry.
Under current law, Alaska prohibits fin fish farming, except for some nonprofit salmon hatcheries. HB 111 seeks to change that by granting the commissioner of the Department of Fish and Game, in consultation with the Commissioner of the Department of Conservation, the authority to permit the cultivation and sale of certain fin fish in inland, closed-system bodies of water.
In response to the proposed legislation, Rep. Louise Stutes (R-Kodiak) and Speaker Bryce Edgmon (I-Dillingham), who are chair and vice chair of the House Committee on Fisheries, issued a joint statement expressing strong opposition to HB 111:
“Alaska’s commercial fishing industry, our coastal communities, and fishing families across the state are suffering through historically poor market conditions, inconsistent returns, and unfair trade practices. Make no mistake, the industry will recover; however, lifting a ban on freshwater finfish farming sends the wrong signal, at the wrong time. It also erodes the spirit of the current ban and provides a foot in the door for possible salmon farming in Alaska. We need to be focusing on solutions for our fisheries that positively impact our industry, market conditions, and the bottom line for our fishermen, not legislation that distracts from that.”
Both Stutes and Edgmon are heavily funded in their campaigns by commercial fishing interests.
Gov. Dunleavy issued a video about his bill late in the day on Monday:
