Mary Peltola Focuses Campaign on Fishing Issues

Mary Peltola, a former Democratic Representative, is centering her campaign to defeat Republican Senator Dan Sullivan in Alaska around fishing. Having grown up fishing on the Kuskokwim River and being of Yup’ik heritage, she has revived her longstanding motto, “Fish, Family, Freedom,” from her time in the House. Peltola is advocating for a ban on factory trawling.

“I’m the only candidate on this stage who’s an Alaskan fisherman. Fish is in my blood, earned over generations on the water,” Peltola expressed during a fisheries debate on September 12, according to a report from the Alaska Beacon.

Neither the Peltola nor Sullivan campaigns, nor the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), have promptly responded to requests for comments.

The main conflict appears to revolve around bycatch, the unintended capture of salmon, halibut, and crab in the nets of large trawlers operating in the Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska. Many Alaskans attribute declining salmon runs and diminishing stocks of halibut and crab to this issue. An economist from the University of Alaska Anchorage pointed out that this election could influence Senate control.

Brett Watson, another economist from the university, mentioned he hadn’t seen fishing issues take such a prominent role in statewide or federal campaigns before.

Peltola and her supporters argue that Sullivan favors out-of-state industrial fishing companies that fund his campaign. A political action committee backing Peltola has stated on its website that Sullivan prioritizes his wealthy donors, which they claim is detrimental to Alaskans.

On September 16, Sullivan’s Bycatch Reduction Act was passed by the Senate Commerce Committee, which he hailed as possibly the most comprehensive bill aimed at reducing trawler bycatch ever. His office characterized this legislation as an updated version of a previous bycatch bill he introduced.

Sullivan also noted contributions he made toward establishing the first-ever caps on chum salmon bycatch in the Bering Sea pollock fishery, approved earlier this year. At the Kodiak debate, he warned against empowering a senator from Seattle, referring to Democratic Senator Maria Cantwell, whose state is home to much of the trawl industry.

In addition, Peltola has criticized Sullivan for supporting budget cuts at NOAA, claiming these have hampered the agency’s capacity to survey fish stocks. “We are flying blind without the surveys and the research that NOAA does,” she stated during the debate.

Sullivan countered by affirming his strong support for these surveys and pointed to an additional $10 million in funding he helped secure for NOAA.

Peltola introduced her own bycatch bill in 2024, which faced pressure from trawl industry groups to retract. In contrast, Sullivan’s legislation has encountered less resistance from industry stakeholders.

Former President Donald Trump has pledged to support Sullivan’s campaign in Alaska.

According to a NOAA analysis, Alaska’s seafood industry suffered an estimated loss of $1.8 billion between 2022 and 2023.