Alaska Senate race centers on salmon

Salmon are central to the tight U.S. Senate race in Alaska as the state prepares for a vote that could shift power in Washington, D.C. The dispute pits Indigenous communities that rely on subsistence fishing against a massive commercial fleet.

In the Kuskokwim River, many drying racks sit empty. Evon Waska, a resident who has lived at the water's edge for generations, says too few salmon return from the Bering Sea. Government agencies often close the river to fishing to conserve the fish, a measure that affects families who depend on the catch for food. Waska blames industrial trawlers operating miles offshore. He argues that authorities close his river first while leaving the larger boats open.

The conflict involves a $1 billion industry, much of it based in Seattle. Trawlers use sock-shaped nets that are a quarter mile long with openings as wide as a football field. These vessels catch pollock, a white fish used in imitation crab products. The nets also scoop up prized king salmon and other species. This accidental catch, known as bycatch, is often wasted. Alaskans have grown angry over the practice, and the issue appears in numerous political advertisements.

Republican Senator Dan Sullivan, an incumbent who has supported the pollock industry, is promoting a new bill. He describes it as the most comprehensive bycatch legislation ever written to reduce waste and protect seafloor habitat. Democratic challenger Mary Peltola, who is Indigenous and from the Kuskokwim, calls Sullivan's bill an election year ploy. She says she would ban factory trawlers, the largest vessels in the pollock fleet. Peltola notes that Sullivan received over $300,000 from trawlers and introduced his solution late in the cycle.

Heather Mann, who leads a trawlers association, argues that blaming the pollock fishery will not help western Alaska. She states that science shows eliminating pollock would have a minimal impact on restoring salmon runs. Trawlers report catching 40,000 Alaska salmon this year. While that number represents a small percentage of the total pollock harvest, the waste is felt deeply in remote villages. In Kwethluk, subsistence fishing remains the main occupation and a core part of the culture.

Tribal president Mary Nikolai visited a neighbor's cold smokehouse that went unused all summer. She said most smokehouses in the community look the same. Nikolai described the situation as a slow trend that closes out the local workforce. She hopes the close Senate race will draw national attention to the threat facing these communities.