Juneau watch

With the election behind us, leadership is taking shape for the 34th Alaska Legislature set to begin in mid-January.

It looks like Rep. Bryce Edgmon, independent from Dillingham, will serve as speaker of the House.

Rep. Louise Stutes, R-Kodiak, will chair the House Special Committee on Fisheries. She previously held the gavel from 2015-20, and will take over for Rep. Sarah Vance, R-Homer.

Sen. Gary Stevens, R-Kodiak, will serve again as Senate president.

For more on the legislative leadership, here are press releases from the House Majority Coalition and the Alaska Senate Majority.

'It's a sad story'

Buck Laukitis, a Homer commercial fisherman and former member of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council, has submitted a blistering commentary on the poor state of the halibut fishery.

"I have no confidence in the IPHC's approach," he writes, referring to the International Pacific Halibut Commission.

Fishermen's News ends print edition, again

Fishermen's News, a magazine covering the North Pacific commercial fishing industry, is ending its print edition and, going forward, will be "presented in digital format only," its publisher says.

Read the announcement in the magazine's December issue.

To our knowledge, this leaves our region with no print publications devoted to covering the commercial fishing industry.

National Fisherman magazine earlier this year went online only, and publication of Pacific Fishing magazine has been suspended throughout 2024.

"While I am a big believer in print publications, and it is my preferred medium for reading magazines, the economics of printing and mailing magazines continues to move in the wrong direction. Our revenues simply cannot keep pace with the ever-increasing costs," Fishermen's News Publisher Dave Abrams writes.

Fishermen's News halted publication in 2020, but Abrams revived it the following year.

Opinion: Appreciate CDQ program, pollock fishery

In an Anchorage Daily News opinion piece, three community development quota executives tout the value of the CDQ program and the pollock fishery that underpins it.

Pro-fish Peltola defeated

Alaska Democratic Congresswoman Mary Peltola, who made fish a focal point of her campaign, has lost her bid for a second term.

Republican challenger Nick Begich is the winner.

A new skipper for American Seafoods

American Seafoods Co. announced Inge Andreassen, chief operating officer and president, has "assumed leadership of American Seafoods," succeeding CEO Einar Gustafsson.

Here's a press release.

Seattle-based American Seafoods operates a fleet of Bering Sea pollock factory trawlers.

Southeast pink salmon forecast

The Southeast Alaska pink salmon harvest in 2025 is predicted to be in the "average" range at 29 million fish.

More details in this advisory announcement.