Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy has released his budget proposal for fiscal year 2026, which includes USD 10 million (EUR 9.5 million) for the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute and millions more for research on the state’s struggling salmon fisheries.
The budget proposal includes operating and capital totals of USD 14.2 billion (EUR 13.5 million).
“I have been consistent since day one that my focus is going to be on reducing crime, improving educational outcomes, passing a balanced budget, and bringing outside investment into Alaska. This budget reflects that,” Dunleavy said in a statement.
Following a year of poor salmon runs and a contraction in the state’s seafood sector, the governor is proposing a five-year USD 21.9 million (EUR 20.8 million) program that will see the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) collect better data on the state’s struggling Chinook salmon populations.
“This program is a five-year comprehensive effort by the ADF&G to sample, assess, analyze, and report the stock composition of Chinook salmon harvested across the Gulf of Alaska,” the governor’s office stated in its budget documents. “An effort of this size is necessary to ensure the accuracy, reliability, and utility of this information for sustainable management of Chinook salmon in this broad region.”
The governor’s budget also proposes USD 6.8 million (EUR 6.5 million) in annual spending as part of the state’s efforts to continue participating in the federal Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund. Earlier in December, the federal government announced it was making USD 99 million (EUR 94 million) available for the Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund next year.
The governor also approved USD 750,000 (EUR 713,400) for the Southeast Alaska Chinook Salmon Fishery Mitigation Program, which was established in 2009 to provide financial relief to those most impacted by the 15 percent reduction in chinook salmon harvest made under the revised Pacific Salmon Treaty in 2009.
The budget also includes USD 4.1 million (EUR 3.9 million) for the Alaska Marine Salmon Program, which will help produce better data on the state’s declining salmon populations, over the next five years.
“Many systems in Alaska are experiencing poor returns of salmon, including chinook salmon stocks statewide, Western Alaska chum salmon stocks, and others,” the governor’s office said of the program. “Available information frequently points to poor marine survival attributed to changing ocean conditions, resulting in a reduced sustainable harvest available to Alaskans. It is critical to have resources to participate in marine research efforts in the Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska.”
Finally, the proposal provides USD 10 million for the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute to invest in marketing Alaska’s seafood over the next three years – an item Dunleavy had vetoed over the summer as part of the state’s fiscal year 2025 supplemental budget.
The state legislature is set to convene on 21 January 2025 to consider the proposed budget.
