Fisheries management is complex and essential for all Alaskans, coastal communities, and families reliant on healthy stocks. Raised on the Kenai River, the historic premier king salmon fishery, and with 30 years as a sport and commercial fisherman, I share the conservation concerns driving this debate. As a gubernatorial candidate, I call for substantive dialogue over sound bites. A blanket trawling ban is rash, risking economic harm and fishery instability. I urge fellow candidates to temper rhetoric; vows like "stop trawling day one" reveal incomplete understanding. We must prioritize science-based management with robust monitoring and technology, not emotion, and enforce existing laws for accountability. The Amendment 80 fleet drives most bycatch and bottom-trawls Alaska’s Exclusive Economic Zone; however and notably, one-third of this fishery is owned by coastal Alaskan communities (under CDQs: community development quotas, enacted via the Magnuson-Stevens Act (1976, 2007) and Sustainable Fisheries Act (1996)) dependent on it for economic survival. As Governor, I'd review the program to ensure alignment with Alaskan values and priorities. Bycatch is inevitable, but must be minimized through smart policies. King and chum declines stem from multiple factors, including foreign high-seas fisheries and trawlers, massive Russian hatchery releases, domestic bycatch, in-river egg predation and warming ocean habitats. Foreign trawling evades oversight despite treaties, while Russia's 20:1 hatchery release ratio outcompetes our salmon in shared feeding grounds, tackling this is crucial. Solutions may include new western Alaskan hatcheries for Chinook and Chum using indigenous stocks from struggling rivers. I commend the NPFMC's 45,000 chum bycatch cap, but note 85-90% are Russian hatchery fish, underscoring competition from billions of foreign releases. We must build on this with further measures.
I've witnessed emotion and outsiders fuel flawed policies, like the spotted owl controversy that needlessly shuttered logging in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska, industries still closed nearly 50 years later. Hindsight revealed inaccuracies and falsehoods, shaping my measured conservation approach. Today, out-of-state entities behind Salmon State linked to Arabella Advisors and funded by George Soros, Zuckerberg, and other radicals, advance anti-fisheries agendas. Broad attacks on trawling could eliminate remaining processors for all commercial fisheries. This is likely their true aim. We must expose their motives to prevent division and secure sustainable fisheries and local harvest for future Alaskans.
I am Matt Heilala, running for Governor.