May 19, 2024 — A passionate debate within the Alaska Legislature about tribal sovereignty and a task force to course-correct the state’s seafood industry economic and ecological collapse resulted in last weekend’s final passage of a temporary eight-member Seafood Industry Task Force to spearhead recovery initiatives.
The state Senate bill passed its final legislative step with a 39-to-1 majority in a vote on the House floor, and the upper chamber unanimously approved it the same day. However, an amendment introduced by Republican state Rep. Louise Stutes only allowed eight elected officials and excluded five other fishing, fish processing, and community representatives. The three tribal seats that Democratic state Rep. CJ McCormick had advocated for were not included.
“It took us until 2022 to finally recognize tribes. We have them here in this bill, and now we’re taking them out,” said Democratic state Rep. CJ McCormick in open debate on the House floor. “It felt pretty monumentous to finally have representation from tribal members.”
The 26-year-old legislator then called the public’s attention to footage of an April 25 House Fisheries Committee meeting in which he argued that tribal governments are rightful co-governing stakeholders in the Alaskan commercial fishing industry. “It just gives me a little bit of pause that [after] adding them on there, now all of the sudden ‘the commission’s too big,’” said Rep. McCormick.