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Sen. Lisa Murkowski and Rep. Mary Peltola discussed the monumental challenges faced by Alaska’s fishermen and coastal communities during their legislative update on the opening day of Kodiak’s annual commercial fishing trade show, ComFish.
“Even if we do everything right starting today, it still could take 30 years for our fisheries to fully recover," Peltola said.
Not all candidates showed up, with one noticeable, glaring absence:
New technology will help speed up the turnaround time for genetic data on the salmon bycatch in Bering Sea fisheries, which could help managers and fishermen make more informed decisions about how and where to best avoid those salmon.
Monday’s debate was the first of three fisheries debates in Kodiak, held over two nights. Congressional debates start Tuesday at 6:30 p.m, first with candidates for Alaska’s U.S. House seat, followed by two candidates for U.S. Senate at 8:15 p.m. KMXT will air the debates and streaming them on its website.