A political debate between candidates to represent the US state of Alaska in Washington DC turned contentious as hopefuls staked out their differences over fisheries management, the Alaska Beacon reported.

Republican US House candidate Nick Begich criticized incumbent Democratic representative Mary Peltola over a political ad stating that a Begich victory would mean "our fish are gone."

Alaska supplies 60% of America's wild-caught seafood, and the maritime industry -- including fishing, processing and servicing fishing boats -- is the state's top private-sector employer.

Since her successful run in 2022, Peltola has advertised herself as the "pro-fish" candidate. She said that line occasionally draws laughs from the rest of the nation, though she doesn't think it's funny.

"This is our livelihood," she said during the debate held in Kodiak, Alaska on Tuesday (Oct. 8). "This is the way we feed our families, and this is our identity, and we need to make sure that we're preserving this, whether it's the bycatch issue or the myriad of other issues that are presenting challenges to our fisheries today."

Begich said fishing is critical to Alaska's economy and cultural identity that shouldn't be partisan.

"This is one of a few issues, I would say at the moment, that we should be able to work on in a bipartisan fashion," he said.

Both Begich and Peltola said they support bills that would accelerate relief payments during disastrously low seafood harvests. They emphasized that the farm bill under consideration in congress should provide more equitable treatment for Alaska seafood when compared to land-based agriculture. 

Both also advocated measures to reduce bycatch,  which is a non-targeted species caught by harvesters.

The state of Alaska has repeatedly closed or limited subsistence and sport salmon fisheries due to low salmon runs, but commercial fishing trawlers are permitted to catch significant numbers of salmon as bycatch in federally regulated fisheries. This issue that has caused conflict between fishing communities. 

In September, two Kodiak trawlers accidentally caught 2,000 king salmon, hitting a federally mandated limit and closing a valuable groundfish season, as Undercurrent News previously reported.

Peltola and Begich each said they support additional research and technology development to limit bycatch. While bycatch has become a target for criticism in the state, scientific research has not yet settled on it as a primary cause of Alaska's low salmon returns.

Only Peltola said she would support the creation of a reserved seat on the North Pacific Fisheries Management Council -- which regulates federal fisheries offshore -- for a member of an Indigenous tribe. As Undercurrent reported, the Biden administration overrode a recommended slate to appoint an industry-friendly figure rather than a representative from an Indigenous tribe.

Also, Begich and Peltola said they differ on the use of foreign workers in Alaska's fishing industry. Peltola said she supports continuing the H-1B visa program for seafood processors hiring guest workers for seasonal labor; Begich opposes it.

"There's a 4% unemployment rate in Alaska. I want to make sure that we're prioritizing Alaskans who want to work first, before we start prioritizing people from outside of our nation to come in and take those jobs," Begich said.

Fish caucus in US congress

Peltola said that during her time in the US congress, she helped create a bipartisan "fish caucus" to advance fisheries legislation, a fact that Begich countered later by saying that Peltola hasn't been able to get support from that caucus for her own bills.

"We need to have a fish caucus that is bipartisan, and I think that's important. I think it's also important that we be honest in politics. And you know, I'm seeing ads right now from, again, one of my opponents up here on stage that says, 'If you elect Nick Begich, there'll be no more fish,'" Begich said. 

He called that "ridiculous" and "shameful." 

He went on: "And it's frustrating to me when people are putting things out suggesting that somehow Alaska wouldn't have fish because I get elected, that's absolutely wrong, and everyone knows that and she knows that."

Peltola wasn't allowed an immediate response but later told the audience: "I came here tonight excited to talk about fish and fishermen and fishing families and the fishing industry. And I think it's pathetic that it's devolved a bit into petty backbiting. I am not interested in that. I don't know what attack ad is being referred to. I know nothing of this. That was not my ad."

Peltola called out the $7 million spent on attack ads against her in Begich's campaign.

"And it's time that I stand up for myself and stand up for Alaskans and say enough is enough. I'm not here to do any petty bickering. I'm here to talk about fishing, fishermen and fishing families and the fishing industry," she said, drawing the night's only applause from the audience in Kodiak's Gerald C. Wilson Auditorium, the online news outlet reported.

Audience reaction

The debate was just the second time that Peltola and Begich have shared the stage since the August primary election, and it may be the only time before Election Day that they also share a venue with John Wayne Howe, the Alaskan Independence Party candidate in Alaska's top-four general election.

Attendees to the Kodiak event appeared to favor Peltola marginally over Begich. 

"They seemed actually informed on what the fisheries here entail and the struggles that fishermen throughout the state are facing currently and in the future," said Kodiak fisherman Clifton Ivanoff.

"I think Begich answered some of the early questions maybe a little bit better than Peltola, but I think she just showed she's got more knowledge of fisheries toward the end," said Ryan Burt.

The four highest vote-getters in the August primary election, regardless of party, will advance to the general election.