February 26, 2025 — Speaker Bryce Edgmon and Rep. Louise Stutes have come out strongly against Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s bill that would allow a limited amount of fish farming in Alaska.
Last Friday, Governor Mike Dunleavy introduced House Bill 111, legislation aimed at reversing Alaska’s absolute ban on fish farms. The bill has sparked immediate debate among lawmakers and stakeholders in the state’s fishing industry.
Under current law, Alaska prohibits fin fish farming, except for some nonprofit salmon hatcheries. HB 111 seeks to change that by granting the commissioner of the Department of Fish and Game, in consultation with the Commissioner of the Department of Conservation, the authority to permit the cultivation and sale of certain fin fish in inland, closed-system bodies of water.