Washington watch

We told you last month an Alaska seafood industry roundtable featuring Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick was planned for today in Washington, D.C.

Well, the roundtable indeed was held, and Sen. Lisa Murkowski just posted about it on Facebook.

A plum for CDQ program in Trump's megabill?

The "big beautiful bill" now under debate in Congress appears to include certain tax benefits for Alaska's community development quota program.

The Alaska Beacon news website, in a story posted Saturday, linked to the latest version of the huge bill.

The CDQ provisions can be found in Section 70428, pages 468-70.

We'll certainly endeavor to learn more about what this is and exactly who would benefit.

Murkowski thanks the commerce secretary

U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, yesterday posted the following on Facebook:

I'm hearing from halibut and sablefish IFQ fishermen that their permits are beginning to be processed. Thank you, Secretary Lutnick, for working with me to help get Alaskans on the water in time for the opener.

A bill to ban octopus farming

U.S. Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-Rhode Island, and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, have introduced legislation to ban commercial octopus farming in the United States and prohibit imports of farmed octopus from foreign countries.

"Octopuses are among the most intelligent creatures in the oceans. And they belong at sea, not suffering on a factory farm," Whitehouse said in this press release.

The bill "protects Alaska's marine ecosystems and supports wild harvest opportunities for Alaska's fishermen," Murkowski said.

Capitol salmon

U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, has been working on spending bills, and a press release from her office notes the following:

Senator Murkowski inserted report language in the Legislative Branch FY25 Appropriations Act that encourages the Senate Dining Room and food-service facilities in the Capitol to source domestic seafood products, including wild-caught salmon. Alaska-caught seafood should be available for those who visit the capitol to enjoy and to appreciate that when it comes to seafood, there's no substitute for Alaskan seafood.

Murkowski's fish worries

In her Thursday address to the Alaska Legislature, U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski had this to say, in part, about the state's struggling seafood sector:

I mentioned earlier the unequivocally bad state of so many of our fisheries. The 'absence of abundance' is threatening subsistence, commercial and recreational fishing alike. Fish racks hang empty on the Yukon and Kuskokwim. The processing industry is undergoing a wave of consolidation. Outside groups are attempting to shut down entire fisheries and list the king salmon as endangered. So much we thought we knew is changing. The changes in our climate threaten our food security and our economic security. I worry about King Cove, False Pass, Kodiak and all the coastal communities that depend on fish, fish processing and the fish tax. Just as I worry about those who are not able to fill their freezers with fish from the river.

Read Murkowski's full address here.

Murkowski's new fish guy

U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today announced new staff members, including this one:

Matt Robinson, born and raised in Fairbanks, joins the D.C. office as legislative assistant for fisheries and oceans. Matt earned both his bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Alaska Fairbanks before joining the North Pacific Fishery Management Council as an Alaska Sea Grant State Fellow in 2015. After his fellowship, he joined Bristol Bay Economic Development Corp., where he worked for five years managing the harvest of BBEDC's federally allocated community development quota and representing the organization at various fisheries regulatory meetings.

Bridge work to aid Ocean Beauty

U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, has announced a deal for bridge repairs vital to processor Ocean Beauty's Excursion Inlet cannery.

UFA likes Murkowski for another term

United Fishermen of Alaska, the state's top commercial fishing association, is endorsing U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski for re-election.

Will this help?

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has announced plans to buy up to $30 million in "surplus" Alaska canned sockeye salmon, Sen. Lisa Murkowski says.

Details in this press release from the senator's office.

Two quick notes

The state has conducted a review of the Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission. Download the report here.

Also, Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski and some of her colleagues are sponsoring legislation to permanently exempt fishing boats from EPA regulation of incidental discharges. Here's a press release.

Personnel file

We've had a number of hirings, board changes and the like to begin the new year. Here's a quick rundown.

Cora Campbell, the former Alaska fish and game commissioner, has taken a job with Norton Sound Economic Development Corp.

Charles O. Swanton has been named deputy commissioner of the Department of Fish and Game. Swanton, who previously was director of the Division of Sport Fish, also has been nominated to the Pacific Salmon Commission.

The Marine Stewardship Council has appointed Brian Perkins as regional director for the Americas.

The Bristol Bay Regional Seafood Development Association has added Lange Solberg to its board of directors.

Megan O'Neil is the new executive director for the Petersburg Vessel Owners Association.

Deckboss also hears that Ephraim Froehlich is the new fisheries aide to U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska. He replaces Jay Sterne.

Murkowski wants China meeting on shellfish ban

Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski is urging U.S. officials to send a delegation to China to try to persuade that country to lift its import ban on geoduck clams and other shellfish from Alaska and the West Coast.

Here's a letter Murkowski sent last week.

Check this NOAA website for background and updates on the China situation.

Does Alaska salmon qualify?

U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, says certain agencies have adopted sustainable seafood policies that could bar wild Alaska salmon from federal programs.

She's asking for a meeting with agency officials to straighten them out. Check out the senator's letter.

Dear Mr. President

A bunch of U.S. senators, including Alaskans Mark Begich and Lisa Murkowski, have sent a letter to President Obama urging emergency funding for fishery disasters declared in 2012 in a number of states.

Sandy has sailed

Alaska's attempt to grab some Superstorm Sandy money for its Chinook salmon disaster has failed.

President Obama has signed a $50.5 billion relief package for the October hurricane that trashed New York, New Jersey and other Northeast areas. Congress gave final passage to the bill Monday.

U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, voted in favor of the Sandy bill despite the omission of aid for federally declared fishery disasters in Alaska and other states. But she complained about it and said she'll keep looking for a way to reel in federal funding.

Critics panned efforts to use the Sandy bill as a vehicle to address fishery disasters in states far off the storm's path.

Murkowski names a new fisheries aide

Jay Sterne is the new fisheries aide for U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska.

Sterne takes the position previously held by Stefanie Moreland, who left in August to become fisheries adviser to Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell.

A press release today from Murkowski's office describes Sterne as "a 20-year veteran of fisheries and Arctic policy discussions."

Prior to Moreland, Arne Fuglvog was fisheries aide to Murkowski.

Fuglvog resigned from the job after admitting to a federal fisheries violation during his days as a commercial fisherman. He served five months in prison this year for the offense.

By way of background, Deckboss knows only a couple of things about Sterne.

In years past, he was involved in lobbying for Prowler Fisheries, a prominent commercial fishing company that belonged to the late John Winther of Petersburg.

And Sterne, you might recall, was among friends who wrote letters asking the judge to take Fuglvog's character and public service into consideration at his sentencing.

Parnell names familiar fisheries adviser

Stefanie Moreland, who took Arne Fuglvog's place as fisheries aide to U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, is returning to state government as Gov. Sean Parnell's fisheries adviser.

Here's a press release from the governor's office:

Aug. 22, 2012

Moreland named adviser for fisheries, oceans and Arctic policy

JUNEAU — Gov. Sean Parnell today named Stefanie Moreland to the position of senior adviser for fisheries, oceans and Arctic policy.

Moreland currently serves as a legislative assistant for Sen. Lisa Murkowski in the areas of fisheries, oceans and the Arctic.

She also has held several positions in the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, including federal fisheries coordinator and manager of the Extended Jurisdiction Program.

"Stefanie's knowledge of Alaska's diverse fisheries and understanding of Arctic issues, and her broad experience at both the state and federal level will be a great asset to my office and the state," Parnell said.

Moreland will be an adviser and coordinator on Alaska fisheries policy between the governor's office and other state and federal agencies. She also will interface and coordinate with state and federal agencies on Arctic policy matters.

Moreland received a bachelor's degree in natural resources and environmental studies from the University of Minnesota and a master's degree in resource and applied economics from the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

"I'm honored to have this opportunity to return to Alaska and serve the governor," Moreland said. "I particularly look forward to helping ensure that state interests inform the major federal initiatives under way in the Arctic and waters off Alaska."

Moreland will begin her duties on Sept. 17. She will be based in Juneau.

Labor crisis abates for processing industry

Foreign students can continue to work in U.S. seafood processing plants this summer under the State Department's J-1 visa program, Alaska's senators announced Friday.

Here's a press release from Sen. Mark Begich, and a statement from Sen. Lisa Murkowski.

Murkowski agrees with Obama on NOAA home

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, believes President Obama's proposal to move the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration from the Commerce Department to the Interior Department is a good idea.

Read her thoughts on the matter here.

The National Marine Fisheries Service, of course, is part of NOAA.