Fishing fight over salmon and trawlers defines Alaska Senate race five days out

Fishing has become a defining issue in Alaska's U.S. Senate race, with salmon scarce in some Western Alaska rivers and voters pressing Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan and Democratic challenger Mary Peltola over who will protect the catch ¹².

Evon Waska, who lives at the water's edge on the Kuskokwim River, told NPR his drying racks should be full of salmon but are empty. Government agencies often close the river to conserve fish, even for families fishing to eat, and he blames industrial trawlers working offshore ¹.

On tapeCBS News · Oct 23

▶6:14

They don't close the trawlers. They close me and my people first.

The trawlers tow sock-shaped nets a quarter mile long with an opening as wide as a football field to catch pollock, the white fish used in imitation crab, NPR reported. Prized king salmon and other fish are scooped up by accident and wasted, a problem known as bycatch ¹.

Sullivan is touting a new bill. In an archived recording aired by NPR, he said: "It's the most comprehensive bycatch legislation ever to reduce bycatch, protect seafloor habitat." ¹ Newsweek reported he introduced the Bycatch Reduction Act in June, and it was referred to the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee ².

From Channel GOPPeltola: Sullivan tripled his wealth while Alaskans struggleMary Peltola · 129 plays · captioned, with the source named

Peltola, who is Indigenous and from the Kuskokwim, says she would ban factory trawlers, the largest of the pollock fleet. She called Sullivan's bill an election-year ploy ¹.

Dan Sullivan reeled in over $300,000 from trawlers and waited until the 11th hour for a half-hearted and half-baked solution.

Heather Mann, who leads a trawlers association, told NPR that scapegoating the pollock fishery won't help Western Alaska. She said science shows eliminating pollock would have "a minimal impact" on restoring salmon runs ¹. Pollock trawlers say they have caught 40,000 Alaska salmon so far this year, a tiny percentage of the massive pollock harvest ¹.

On tapeCNBC Television · Oct 23

▶2:26

In the Kuskokwim River village of Kwethluk, subsistence fishing is the main occupation and the backbone of the culture. Tribal president Mary Nikolai stepped into a neighbor's cold smokehouse that went unused all summer ¹.

Nikolai said most of the smokehouses are like that, describing "a slow trend of closing our workforce out" ¹. Regardless of who wins, she hopes the close race tells the world of the threat they face ¹.

Aubrey Wieber, executive director of the Alaska political watchdog the 907 Initiative, which has campaigned against Sullivan, told Newsweek that costs compound in Alaska because everything is shipped up, with gas in rural areas as much as $26 per gallon ². He said trawl bycatch is a second core issue that came from the grassroots ².

Matt Alward, president of the United Fishermen of Alaska, told Newsweek that changing environmental conditions in oceans and rivers are a large factor in struggling salmon stocks, and that trawl fisheries are more regulated and monitored than ever ².

Newsweek reported that Peltola's campaign slogan is "Fish, Family, Freedom." In a statement to Newsweek she said: "Strong fisheries are the lifeblood of our economy, communities, and families. Some of the fisheries that have sustained generations of Alaskans are suffering at the hands of Lower 48 factory trawlers, and we need to take action" ².

Newsweek reported that Alaska has not elected a Democrat to the Senate since 2008, and that Democrats have relatively few realistic chances to flip Republican-held seats, making Alaska one of the most closely watched contests alongside Maine, Texas and Michigan ². The state uses ranked-choice voting ².

President Trump has said he told the Department of Justice to sue the state and its election officials over a Senate ballot that includes two candidates named Dan Sullivan, and the administration has said it aims to stop Alaska from certifying the result if Sullivan loses to Peltola ².

That matters because the fight over fish is now tangled with a fight over whether the vote will be certified at all, five days before the election ¹².

The Record

1. Jun 1, 2026Sullivan introduced the Bycatch Reduction Act, referred to the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee ²
2. Oct 26, 2026Newsweek reports fishing concerns could decide Senate control in Alaska ²
3. Oct 29, 2026NPR reports empty smokehouses and a bycatch fight in the Alaska Senate race ¹

Sources

1. NPR, “Fishing is a key issue in Alaska's tight U.S. Senate race” (2026-10-29). npr.org/2026/10/29/nx-s1-6018248/fishing-is-a-key-issue-in-a
2. Newsweek, “Senate control may come down to fishing concerns in Alaska” (2026-10-26). newsweek.com/senate-control-may-come-down-to-fishing-concern

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