Mary Peltola announces U.S. Senate bid

Former Congresswoman Mary Peltola, a Democrat, today announced she'll challenge incumbent U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska.

Peltola, in an email blast from the Democratic National Committee, declared: "My agenda for Alaska will always be: fish, family, freedom."

She further said: "Multinational companies are trawling our waters and decimating our fish stocks."

Sullivan has served in the Senate since 2015 and likewise has shown considerable interest in fisheries, often referring to Alaska as a "superpower of seafood."

How long is too long in Bristol Bay?

The Alaska Board of Fisheries is set for a six-day meeting starting Tuesday in Anchorage to consider regulatory proposals for Bristol Bay, home to Alaska's richest salmon fishery.

The proposals cover a wide range of concerns, but we're particularly interested in this raft of 10 proposals addressing the bay's longstanding 32-foot length limitation for drift gillnet boats.

Proposals to increase the length limit, which many fishermen feel is outmoded and overly confining, have come before the board and failed regularly since 1991.

Now, we see more proposals. For example, Proposal 83, from fisherman Abe Williams, would extend the length limit to 36 feet. Proposal 84, from fisherman Matt Marinkovich, would extend it to 34 feet, 2 inches.

A major objective for fishermen offering the 10 proposals is clearing up confusion over whether certain attachments may somewhat exceed the 32-foot limit. Attachments include anchor rollers, fish dropout baskets, gillnet rollers, outdrives and outdrive guards, trim tabs, transom coolers and more.

In a letter to the Board of Fisheries, Alaska Wildlife Troopers Capt. Derek DeGraaf said the agency doesn't have an opinion on vessel length, but believes allowing no exceptions is best for enforcement.

"Having a maximum distance from the most forward extremity to the aft extremity eliminates all confusion on what is allowed," DeGraaf wrote.

Relaxing the vessel length limitation in Bristol Bay would be a big deal. Proponents argue bigger boats would be safer with more space aboard to produce better quality products. Others, however, raise concerns about the costs involved and potential for creating competitive mismatches in the fishery.

Could be a lively discussion at the Board of Fisheries.

AMCC is changing its name to ... AMCC

The Alaska Marine Conservation Council says that, come Jan. 15, it will be known as the Alaska Marine Community Coalition.

Here's a press release explaining the name change.

Juneau watch

State Sen. Cathy Giessel, R-Anchorage, has prefiled Senate Bill 199 titled "An Act repealing the Alaska Commercial Fisheries Limited Entry Commission and transferring its duties to the Department of Fish and Game and the office of administrative hearings."

The title is an apparent reference to the Alaska Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission.

The prefiled bill comes in advance of the next legislative session, which begins Jan. 20.

Bycatch Reduction and Research Act introduced

Here's a press release from the Alaska congressional delegation.

Southeast Chinook run forecasts released

See the numbers in this advisory announcement from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

9 reportedly rescued from grounded boat in Bering

The Anchorage Daily News has the story.