05.02.24

Alaska Delegation Introduces FISHES Act to Bolster Disaster Relief for Fisheries

WASHINGTON — Today, U.S. Senators Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) introduced legislation to improve the federal process associated with delivering fishery disaster relief. Representatives Mary Sattler Peltola (D-Alaska) and Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) introduced the companion legislation in the House of Representatives last year. The Fishery Improvement to Streamline Untimely Regulatory Hurdles post Emergency Situation Act (FISHES… Continue Reading

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02.14.24

Delegation Applauds USDA Purchase of Alaska Seafood Products

Today, U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan (both R-Alaska) and Representative Mary Peltola (D-Alaska) applauded the USDA announcing its plans to purchase about $100 million of Alaska pink and sockeye salmon through Section 32 and the Commodity Credit Corporation. “USDA’s Section 32 purchase announcement is great news for Alaska—almost $100 million of Alaskan seafood for people experiencing food insecurity. This purchase won’t just bolster Alaska’s seafood industry and support our coas… Continue Reading

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02.12.24

Murkowski Introduces Working Waterfronts Bill to Boost Coastal Workforce, Fisheries, and Infrastructure

Today, U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), introduced the Working Waterfronts Act, legislation which includes more than a dozen provisions aimed at boosting the workforce, energy and shoreside infrastructure, food security, and economies of coastal communities in Alaska and across the country. The bill will also support efforts to mitigate the impacts of climate change on coastal communities and strengthen federal conservation research projects. In October 2022, Senator Murkowski began soliciti… Continue Reading

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11.15.23

Vice Chairman Murkowski Leads U.S. Senate Committee Field Hearing In Bethel To Hear About Impacts Of Salmon Declines

U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Vice Chairman of the Senate Committee on Indians Affairs (SCIA), recently chaired a field hearing and public listening session in Bethel, Alaska on “The Impact of the Historic Salmon Declines on the Health and Well-Being of Alaska Native Communities Along Arctic, Yukon, and Kuskokwim Rivers.” The event was held at the Yukon Kuskokwim He Corporation’s “Gathering Place.”  “It is significant and historic to bring the Senate Indian Affairs Committee to Bethel to … Continue Reading

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06.23.23

Murkowski Joins Congressional Delegation to Europe Ahead of July NATO Summit in Lithuania

Washington, D.C.–U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), senior member on the Senate Appropriations Committee, Patty Murray (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Chris Coons (D-DE), and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) yesterday embarked on a congressional delegation (CODEL) to Lithuania, Norway, and Belgium. The Senators’ visit comes just before Lithuania is set to host a NATO Summit in Vilnius from July 11-12. The Senators’ CODELwill take place from June 22 to June … Continue Reading

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06.22.23

Wild USA Seafood: Murkowski Bill Would Label American-Caught Seafood, Support American Fishermen

Today, U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski, along with Senator Dan Sullivan (both R-Alaska) introduced the Wild USA Seafood Act of 2023, which would establish a "Wild USA Seafood" label for wild-harvested seafood caught in U.S. waters. The bill would allow the U.S. seafood industry to promote wild-harvested seafood, including fish, crustaceans, and aquatic plants harvested in U.S. waters. "Alaska's seafood is the best in the world-and I'm proud to lead on this effort that would ensure consumers know th… Continue Reading

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05.19.23

Delegation Welcomes Over $200 Million in Fishery Disasters Funding for Alaska

U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, (both R-Alaska), and Representative Mary Sattler Peltola (D-Alaska) welcomed allocations of nearly $216 million in fishery disaster funding from the U.S. Department of Commerce. In December, the Secretary of Commerce announced that a number of Alaska's crab and salmon fisheries met the requirements for disaster determinations in the past few years, allowing this funding to be distributed to fishermen and their crews, seafood processors, and research… Continue Reading

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05.04.23

Alaska Delegation Condemns Court Ruling Against Southeast Troll Fishermen

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan (both R-Alaska), and Representative Mary Sattler Peltola (D-Alaska), condemned a ruling by the U.S. District Court in Seattle, Washington in favor of a lawsuit filed by Wild Fish Conservancy (WFC) that will effectively shut down a Southeast Alaska small boat troll salmon fishery. WFC argued that the Southeast Alaska salmon harvest is a primary contributor to the population decline of Southern resident killer whales hundreds of miles to the… Continue Reading

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04.20.23

Sullivan, Murkowski, and Colleagues Introduce FISH Act to Combat Illegal Foreign Seafood Harvest

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senators Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Brian Schatz (D-Hawai'i), and Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) today introduced S.1227, the Fighting Foreign Illegal Seafood Harvest (FISH) Act, legislation to combat foreign illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing by blacklisting offending vessels from U.S. ports and waters, bolstering the U.S. Coast Guard's enforcement capabilities, and advancing international and bilateral negotiations to… Continue Reading

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03.09.23

Alaska Delegation Urges Court to Drop Deceptive Lawsuit Threatening Southeast Alaska Troll Fishermen

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senators Dan Sullivan and Lisa Murkowski (both R-Alaska), and Representative Mary Sattler Peltola (D-Alaska), filed an amicus brief with the U.S. District Court in Seattle, Washington this week supporting Southeast Alaska troll fishermen in a case that threatens to shut down their small boat troll fishery on the pretense that their salmon harvest is a primary contributor to the population decline of Southern resident killer whales hundreds of miles away in Puget Sound. The lawsui… Continue Reading

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12.27.22

Murkowski Delivers Big Wins for Alaska’s Fisheries and Oceans in Consolidated Appropriations Act

U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), a senior member of the Appropriations Committee, secured significant funding for fisheries and oceans priorities in Alaska in the recently-passed Consolidated Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2023. As a result of Murkowski's work, the year-end omnibus includes $15 million in Congressionally Directed Spending (CDS) allocations for ocean and river research to be performed by Alaskans in addition to significant programmatic support through agency budgets. (Cli… Continue Reading

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12.19.22

Murkowski-Led Efforts to Protect Alaska’s Oceans and Environment Pass in Annual NDAA

Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), a co-chair of the Senate Oceans Caucus, applauded the recent passage of H.R. 7776, the James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2023 (FY23), which included several Murkowski-led provisions aimed at supporting the blue economy and protecting Alaska's oceans and environment, such as the bipartisan BLUE GLOBE Act she championed with Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI). The bill also invests in port and harbor in… Continue Reading

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12.16.22

Senate Passes Sullivan-Murkowski Alaska Salmon Research Task Force Act

WASHINGTON-The U.S. Senate this week voted unanimously to pass the Alaska Salmon Research Task Force Act, legislation introduced by Senators Dan Sullivan and Lisa Murkowski (both R-Alaska) that would form a panel of Alaska's salmon stakeholders and research experts to study Pacific salmon trends and create a coordinated research strategy for Pacific salmon in Alaska to support robust salmon runs. The Research Task Force would be directed to conduct a comprehensive review of Pacific salmon scienc… Continue Reading

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12.16.22

Murkowski, Sullivan, Peltola Announce Disaster Declarations for Alaska Fisheries

U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, (both R-Alaska), and Representative Mary Sattler Peltola (D-Alaska) welcomed determinations from the U.S. Department of Commerce that fishery disasters have occurred in numerous Alaska fisheries, allowing Alaska fishermen to receive critical relief funding. The funding can be distributed to fishermen and their crews, seafood processors, and research initiatives in the impacted regions. "Our fisheries have faced incredible challenges-from the fall r… Continue Reading

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11.17.22

Alaska and Washington Senators Call on Administration to Quickly Declare Federal Fishery Disaster

Today U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), and Patty Murray (D-WA) sent a letter to Secretary of Commerce Raimondo urging her to rapidly declare a federal fishery disaster for the 2022-2023 Bering Sea snow crab, the 2022-2023 Bristol Bay red king crab, and the 2021-2022 Bristol Bay red king crab fisheries. Following last month's harvests being canceled, declaring a fishery disaster for the Bering Sea snow crab and Bristol Bay red king crab fisheries is… Continue Reading

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05.26.22

Murkowski, Sullivan: Pebble is the Wrong Mine in the Wrong Place

U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Dan Sullivan (R-AK) today released the following statements after the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a revised "Proposed Determination" to prohibit and restrict the use of certain waters and watersheds for the discharge of dredged and fill material from the Pebble Deposit area near Bristol Bay, Alaska. The Proposed Determination, if finalized, would effectively halt the Pebble project and other potential mining in the affected area. Senat… Continue Reading

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05.16.22

Murkowski, Sullivan Welcome Signing of American Fisheries Advisory Committee Act

President Joe Biden this week signed the American Fisheries Advisory Committee Act into law, bipartisan legislation authored by U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) and cosponsored by Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) that will create an industry-led committee to assist in the administration of federal fisheries marketing, research, and development grants. "Supporting Alaska's fisheries continues to be one of my top priorities. I'm excited that this bipartisan legislation, which will uplift ou… Continue Reading

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05.06.22

Murkowski, Sullivan Announce Fisheries Disaster Funding for Alaska

U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, both R-Alaska, today announced the U.S. Department of Commerce will direct nearly $132 million to Alaska for fishery disasters. The funds, which were appropriated by Congress, are part of a total of $144 million that will be disbursed nationwide for this purpose. "I'm pleased to announce this crucial funding is finally on the way for Alaska's seafood industry. After facing both serious fishery disasters and the pandemic, there are owners, employees… Continue Reading

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03.31.22

Administration Announces Additional H-2B Visas

U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) released the following statement after the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Labor (DOL) announced 35,000 additional H-2B nonagricultural worker visas for the second half of fiscal year 2022, which will be available to employers for the summer 2022 season. "With the tourism and fishing season right around the corner, and the economic fallout we have seen from COVID, it is vital to ensure Alaskans have the needed workers to supplement … Continue Reading

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03.11.22

Murkowski Commends Announcement of Russian Seafood Ban

U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) today issued the following statement commending President Joe Biden for signing an executive order to prohibit the importation of Russian seafood and other key imports into the United States. Since Russia imposed seafood bans on the United States in 2014, Senator Murkowski has worked to educate every President and their administration on the importance of re-opening the Russian market to U.S. seafood and failing that, creating a reciprocal ban on Russian seafo… Continue Reading