Tag Archives: Sen. Lisa Murkowski
Bailouts
The Alaska Congressional delegation is singing praises for a new $100 million bailout of the state’s floundering commercial salmon processing business. In a joint statement from the office of Sen. Lisa Murkowski, the trio applauded the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) move with the state’s senior Republican lawmaker tried to spin it as a new poverty program to provide “almost $100 million of Alaskan seafood for people experiencing food insecurity. “This purchase won’t just bolster Alaska’s seafood industry and support our coastal communities,” Murkowski was quoted as saying, “but will help bring the highest-quality and healthiest seafood products in the world to families in need. I am grateful for the USDA’s investment in our fishermen and the health of Americans.” There has been no actual “investment in our fishermen,” presuming she is talking about Alaska fishermen. But they may benefit from a deal that helps processors clean out some of their inventory before the upcoming fishing season. More, >>click to read<< 13:06
Executive order bars imports of Russian fish that is processed in other countries
Russian seafood will no longer be legally allowed in U.S. markets after it is processed in China, under an executive order issued Friday by President Joe Biden. The action seeks to close a loophole that the Russian seafood industry was able to use to skirt import sanctions put in place in 2022 in response to the invasion of Ukraine. The ban is now extended to any seafood caught in Russian waters or by Russian-flagged vessels, “notwithstanding whether such products have been incorporated or substantially transformed into other products outside of the Russian Federation,” the executive order says. While the executive order affects other products, including alcoholic beverages and diamonds, it provides special relief to an Alaska seafood industry that has been struggling with competition from a flood of Russian fish, Alaska’s U.S. senators said. more, >>click to read<< 11:03
Seafood legislation would ban import of Russian-origin seafood products
Legislation introduced in the U.S. House and Senate this week would impose a ban on the import of all Russian-origin seafood products still making their way into the United States. An executive order signed in March of 2022 by President Biden prohibited the import of unaltered seafood originating in Russia. That order did not, however, block Russian seafood that has been substantially changed through reprocessing in another country. The U.S.-Russian Federation Seafood Reciprocity Act of 2023 was introduced by Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, both R-Alaska. Companion legislation was introduced in the House by Reps. Mary Sattler Peltola, D-Alaska, and Garret Graves, R-LA. >click to read< 10:20
Disaster aid has arrived, but Western Alaska’s salmon and crab problems continue
The Alaska congressional delegation announced on Friday that the U.S. Commerce Department released the disaster aid. The money is to go to harvesters, processors and communities affected by designated disasters in salmon and crab fisheries that occurred between 2020 and 2022. For Bering Sea snow crab, signs are that the problems that led to the first-ever harvest closure, which was announced last October, will last for years. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries Service 2022 survey found that despite the emergence of cooler and more normal temperatures, mature male snow crab abundance was the lowest on record and mature female snow crab abundance was the third lowest on record. >click to read< 10:12
Fishery Disaster Assistance: Aid can take years to come through
The designation is supposed to unlock funds to help the communities impacted by those fisheries failures, including communities around Cook Inlet. But it can take years for the money to reach fishermen’s pockets. U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski said the timing is one of the problems with the process. “If you’ve had a disaster that happened in 2018, we’re sitting here in 2022 and you’re saying, ‘Really? You think that that’s going to help me?’ In the meantime. I’ve got a boat mortgage that I’ve got to be paying. I’ve got a crew that I’ve got to be paying. This doesn’t help me at all,” she said. >click to read< 16:49
We ask Sen. Murkowski to let the Pebble process play out
Perhaps you have seen our ads thanking Sen. Lisa Murkowski for standing up for the permitting process for Pebble. The theme of our ads is “we need jobs” and “we want hope.” While the coastal communities in our region see some benefits from the short commercial fishing season, many in our home communities do not. Recently, several of our Bristol Bay leaders took to these pages pushing Sen. Murkowski to more be more aggressively involved in the permitting process. We support Sen. Murkowski staying informed and engaged about the Pebble issue. >click to read< 09:53
Why fishermen are mailing corks to Murkowski
Bristol Bay fishermen who oppose the Pebble Mine are adding an unusual task to their pre-season chores: They’re writing messages on cork floats and mailing them to Sen. Lisa Murkowski.,, It turns out, you can put stamps directly on a cork, add an address and the Postal Service will deliver it. “There are letters and forms you can send out, but this is more like a personalized, very fisherman way to show her that we care,” Ure said. Dillingham fisherman Katherine Carscallen said they’ve probably sent hundreds of corks by now. “This idea caught on pretty quick,” >click to read<17:23
The MSA and Don Young’s partisan dilemma
“We must remain committed to the bipartisan, bicameral tradition of fisheries management,” Rep. Don Young wrote last Sunday, “and my legislation accomplishes just that.” He was referring to the reauthorization of Magnuson-Stevens Act. But when the House passed it on Wednesday, only nine Democrats voted in favor of it. Which explains why, in the same opinion piece, Young complained about “the hyper-partisan mentality” his “Democratic colleagues subscribe to.” Like the breakup of a marriage, there are two sides to this story. The reason why Young is arguing from both might be that he was caught in the middle. >click to read<09:00
Alaska Fishing Delegation Heads To Washington
Representatives of the Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association and the Alaska Marine Conservation Council– both members of the nationalFishing Communities Coalition (FCC) – were in Washington, DC, this week urging lawmakers to resist shortsighted efforts to weaken fishing communities by undermining key Magnuson-Stevens Act accountability provisions.,,, “The MSA is working in Alaska and around the country because all sectors adhere to scientifically-sound annual catch limits. >click to read<09:54
Murkowski to place hold on FDA commissioner nominee
A Senate panel on Tuesday approved Dr. Robert Califf to be commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, but President Barack Obama’s nominee may face trouble. Sen. Lisa Murkowski said she will hold up a vote on the Senate floor until she has reassurances from the agency that genetically modified salmon will be labeled. The Alaska Republican has said the engineered salmon approved by the agency last year could be harmful to her state’s wild salmon industry. Read the article here 09:51
Alaska delegation seeks name change of Russian-water fish sold as “Alaskan pollock”
When you buy Alaska pollock at the store, there’s a nearly 40 percent chance the fish was caught in Russian waters, U.S. pollock producers say. “The problem that we’re facing is that pollock caught by the Russians is also being called Alaskan pollock, which is pollock that is of a more inferior quality,” said Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska). “It’s causing confusion with our good, sustainably managed fishery and a fish that is of high quality.” Read the rest here 21:20
USDA Pick Up $13M More in Alaska Pink Salmon for Food Banks
ANCHORAGE – Sen. Lisa Murkowski is hailing this year’s second large-scale federal purchase of Alaska pink salmon for food banks saying it helps both the state’s fishermen and those in need across the nation. Read the good news here 14:59
U.S. Senate Pushes Funding for Fishing Industry
It includes $4 million for electronic monitors for the fishing fleet. Alaska fishermen on small boats have asked for cameras as a substitute for some of the human observers that record catch data. Sen. Lisa Murkowski told her colleagues electronic monitors will allow the mission to continue. “But recognizing that our small fishermen just simply cannot put another body on their boat as they’re out working.” Read more here 08:42
USDA To Purchase $20M of Alaska Pink Salmon for Food Banks
ANCHORAGE, Alaska – The U.S. Department of Agriculture will purchase $20 million in canned Alaska pink salmon for nationwide distribution to hungry Americans, with a suggestion from Sen. Lisa Murkowski playing a part in the decision. Read more@ktuu 17:44
oooh. I like it! Sen. Lisa Murkowski launches bill to stop gov’t meddling with seafood eco-labels
WASHINGTON, DC – Senator Lisa Murkowski today introduced legislation (bill attached) to combat the influence of outside certification parties on Alaska’s sustainable seafood industry. Her Responsible Seafood Certification and Labeling Act would prohibit any federal agencies from using third party non-governmental certification schemes when considering or labeling any domestic catch as ‘sustainable.’ more@alaskafishradio 19:09
Certified salmon: Park Service director endorses Alaska fish without the MSC label. He does NOT go far enough.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski put Jon Jarvis, director of the National Park Service on the hot seat, and he tried to wiggle his way off the hook by seeking closed door discussion over the Alaska Salmon issue. That’s all well and good for Alaska, while the point is missed that by law all US fishery’s are regulated to be sustainably fished. What about other sustainable by law fish that does not carry the British ENGO label? This NPS issue is just getting started.
From newsminer – So Mr. Jarvis obviously felt a little uncomfortable at a hearing in Washington, D.C., on Thursday when Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, dug into a Park Service recommendation that could curtail Alaska salmon sales by park concessioners nationwide. continued@newsminer
