Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan and Democrat Mary Peltola are locked in a fierce dispute over fisheries management ahead of the 2026 Alaska Senate election.
The central flashpoint is bycatch, the unintended capture of salmon and other nontarget species in nets used by large trawling vessels harvesting pollock and other groundfish in the Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska.
Many Alaskans attribute declining salmon runs and shrinking halibut and crab stocks, at least in part, to the damage caused by trawler bycatch operations in state waters.
The two candidates squared off on September 12 at the 2026 Congressional Candidates Fisheries Forum, hosted by the Kodiak Chamber of Commerce and KMXT Public Radio.
Questions were submitted by members of the public and the seafood industry, then vetted by representatives from multiple Alaska fishing sectors before being posed to the candidates.
Peltola, reviving her “Fish, Family, Freedom” campaign slogan, is calling for a full ban on factory trawlers, while distinguishing between out-of-state corporate operators and smaller Alaska-based fishing boats.
“Our fight is not against small and mid-size boats that keep communities like Kodiak strong. It’s against the out of state corporate greed that leads to wanton waste and damage to our sea floor,” she said at the Kodiak debate.
Peltola also targeted Sullivan’s fundraising record directly, saying, “Alaskans know the difference between a senator who fights for fish and one who fishes for donations.”
Sullivan has accepted roughly $300,000 in donations from trawling executives and PACs over the years, compared to approximately $10,000 that Peltola received from the same industry.
Sullivan has pointed to his official legislative record, most prominently a bill he introduced this year that cleared the Senate Commerce Committee, which he called “the most comprehensive trawl bycatch reduction bill, really, ever” in a social media video.
A notable moment came during a speed round when candidates were asked about the effectiveness of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council and NOAA Fisheries, with Peltola quickly raising her paddle to the “no” side.
Sullivan did not respond for several moments before appearing to glance at his opponent’s paddle and then flipping his own to the “no” side, a moment the Peltola campaign quickly amplified across social media.
The two candidates also clashed on international fisheries policy, with Sullivan, a Marine veteran and 12-year Senate incumbent, taking credit for “single-handedly banning Russian seafood imports.”
In 2022, NOAA reported Alaska’s fishing industry suffered a $1.8 billion loss, representing a nearly 50 percent decline in profitability, underscoring the economic stakes driving the debate.
Alaska remained the country’s largest seafood exporting state, shipping more than $2.5 billion in domestic seafood exports abroad in 2025, according to the U.S. Trade Representative’s Office.
Despite being a solidly red state, Alaska has historically shown openness to moderate Democrats and independents, with Peltola previously winning and serving the state’s lone House seat before mounting her Senate bid.
