Sullivan Convenes Senate Field Hearing on "The State of Our Salmon"

*** To submit public testimony for the record, please email Public_Testimony@sullivan.senate.gov by November 1, 2018. ***

ANCHORAGE, AK -- US. Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), chairman of the Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and the Coast Guard, convened a hearing titled “The State of Our Salmon,” on Saturday, October 20, 2018 during the Alaska Federation of Native annual convention in Anchorage, Alaska.

Senator Sullivan convening Senate field hearing on "The State of Our Salmon"

"From Ketchikan, to Cordova to Kodiak—from Grayling to Emmonak— and everywhere else I travel across our great state—the health of the salmon fishery is always on the forefront of the minds of Alaskans," Senator Sullivan said during the Senate field hearing. "In response to their concerns and many varying theories of what is occurring—whether ocean acidification, the so-called warm water blob, or something entirely different—I called this hearing to review the science behind Alaska’s salmon fisheries. I’m pleased to have an impressive panel of experts here today to discuss these issues, including our federal and state managers."

The hearing reviewed the health of Alaska’s salmon fisheries and examined the current data and information necessary for maintaining healthy and sustainable stocks. and included testimony from key federal, state and regional experts.

"Using the best science available is an essential tenet for fisheries management, and is necessary for maintaining healthy and sustainable stocks for generations to come. This hearing is intended to examine the current data available and identify information gaps," Sullivan said. "Both the state and federal government have a role in providing that science, in conjunction with the assistance of our academic and other research institutions—and I would argue—the knowledge of the fishermen themselves, who are closest to the resource and most reliant on its bounty for their livelihoods and subsistence needs."

Witnesses included: