Kodiak Fisheries Debates

Candidates Confirmed & Topics Released for the Alaska Gubernatorial Fisheries Debate on September 9, 2026, and the US House & US Senate Fisheries Debates in Kodiak on September 12, 2026

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🎥WATCH LIVE on YouTube: youtube.com/@kodiakchamber

📻 LISTEN LIVE: KMXT 100.1 FM

🌐 Livestream links and debate information are available at www.ComFishAK.com

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On Wednesday, September 9^th at 7pm at the Gerald C. Wilson Auditorium in Kodiak, AK, the Kodiak Chamber of Commerce & KMXT Public Radio 100.1 FM will host a fisheries debate for candidates running for Governor. Confirmed candidates to participate in person include Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins (D), Bernadette Wilson (R), Dave Bronson (R) and Treg Taylor (R).

On Saturday, September 12^th, at the Gerald C. Wilson Auditorium in Kodiak, AK, the US House Fisheries Debate starts at 11am, followed by the US Senate Fisheries Debate at 12 pm. Confirmed candidates for the US House Debate include incumbent Nick Begich (R) and Bill Hill (I). Confirmed candidates for the US Senate Debate include incumbent Dan Sullivan (R) and Mary Peltola (D).

Panelists posing questions during the Gubernatorial Fisheries Debate include Toby Sullivan, Executive Director of the Kodiak Maritime Museum, Writer and Commercial Fisherman, along with Tina Fairbanks, Executive Director of the Kodiak Regional Aquaculture Association. On Saturday the panelists asking questions include Mike Litzow, recently retired Kodiak Lab Director and Program Manager for the Alaska Fisheries Science Center’s Shellfish Assessment Program and Chelsae Radell, Fisheries Policy Manager for Pacific Seafood. Senator Gary Stevens will moderate all three debates, joined by Kodiak Chamber of Commerce President Sara Fraser on Saturday for the US House & US Senate Debates. Davis Hovey, KMXT News Director, will be the timekeeper for all three debates.

Topics for questions submitted by members of the public and seafood industry for this year’s fisheries debates are identified in alphabetical order:

2026 Gubernatorial Topics

•  Alaska Board of Fisheries accountability and process, including recent legislative audit and AG decision
• ADF&G budget and sustaining necessary levels of operations 
• Alaska salmon management: state and federal authority, science and data informed decision making
• Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute and the state’s role in funding
• Bycatch policies and science-based fisheries management
• Economic health of fishing communities, and their contribution to the State of Alaska
• Governor’s cabinet, policy advisors, and fisheries policies, including:
• ADF&G Commissioner appointment
• Fisheries Advisor in the Governor's Office
• Plan for effective engagement with all fisheries perspectives
• Board of Fisheries appointments and North Pacific Fisheries Management Council nominations
• Priority legislation related to fisheries and Alaska seafood
• Importance of science-based fisheries management
• King and chum salmon declines and the NOAA study on the impacts of marine and freshwater conditions
• Salmon hatcheries, enhancement programs, and rehabilitation efforts
• State’s role in effective halibut management pertaining to unguided angler data collection and licensing
• Statewide infrastructure to support seafood industry and working waterfronts

2026 House & Senate Topics

• Achieving Alaska seafood priorities in Washington DC
• Economic health of the Alaska seafood industry, coastal communities, and the State of Alaska
• Federal funding priorities supporting fisheries, including management, surveys, research, maritime safety, and stable and effective agency functioning
• Improving efficacy and timeliness of fisheries disaster relief programs
• Jones Act impacts on Alaska, including shipping and affordable ship building to replace fishing vessels
• Leveraging opportunities with USDA Office of Seafood and NOAA Fisheries Seafood Strategy 
• Prioritizing seafood issues within your office
• Role of Congress in managing fisheries
• Subsistence, co-management, food security
• Understanding and mitigating climate change impacts on Alaskan fisheries

For over 36 years Kodiak’s fisheries debates have focused candidates’ attention on fish and the seafood economy that drives our coastal communities. Alaska’s seafood industry plays a critical role in the state’s economy, directly employing more than 41,800 workers annually and contributing $5.2 billion in economic value to Alaska’s economy.

The Alaska Gubernatorial, US House & US Senate Fisheries Debates will be held in person in Kodiak and broadcast live on KMXT 100.1FM, streamed at kmxt.org, made available statewide on public radio stations through Alaska Public Media and live streamed through the Kodiak Chamber’s website, kodiakchamber.org.

🎥WATCH LIVE: YouTube

youtube.com/@kodiakchamber

📻 LISTEN LIVE: KMXT 100.1 FM

🌐 Livestream links and debate information are available at www.ComFishAK.com

For more information on the September 9^th and 12^th Fisheries Debates please contact the Kodiak Chamber of Commerce at (907) 486-5557 or ellen@kodiakchamber.org.

The 2026 Fisheries Debates in Kodiak are sponsored by: Alaskan Quota & Permits, Alaska Whitefish Trawlers Association, City of Kodiak, Freezer Longline Coalition, Kodiak Diesel, Alaska Pollock Fishery Alliance, The Truth, Koniag Inc., Matson, North Pacific Fisheries Association, Pacific Seafood Processors Association, Trident Seafoods, and United Fishermen of Alaska (UFA).