A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit that sought to overturn new halibut bycatch limits on deep-sea trawlers that fish in federal waters off Alaska.

The lawsuit was filed by Groundfish Forum Inc., a Seattle-based trawl trade group, after the North Pacific Fishery Management Council passed a rule that reduces halibut bycatch limits for many trawlers when there are fewer halibut in Alaska waters.

The National Marine Fisheries Service, in charge of implementing the rule, moved to dismiss the lawsuit, and U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Gleason ruled in favor of the agency on Nov. 8. Undercurrent News, a trade publication, first reported on the ruling.

The lawsuit has been a major issue in fishing communities across the Gulf of Alaska. Some of those communities joined the federal government in defense, as did various fishing and conservation organizations.

U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, and Rep. Mary Peltola, D-Alaska, filed a friend-of-the-court brief in favor of the defense, saying that they believe the federal government appropriately implemented fisheries law.

“The (North Pacific) Council has followed the processes and done the work that Congress intended,” they wrote.

The state of Alaska also filed a brief in support of the defense, calling the rule “a well-considered decision rooted in the principles of sustainability, equity and fairness among competing users and long-term conservation.”

At the core of the lawsuit was an argument about whether bycatch — fish caught while pursuing a different target species — amount to an allocation of fishing privileges, akin to the way some fishers are subject to an annual catch quota while pursuing a specific species.

The plaintiffs argued that bycatch restrictions should be considered an allocation issue. That position was opposed by attorneys representing the federal government.

Under current rules, setting allocations is a longer and more intricate process than setting bycatch rules.

Ruling in the forum’s favor “would make it more difficult for NMFS to be able to issue rules that would prevent overfishing, and it would make it more difficult for NMFS to issue rules that would minimize bycatch, especially rules that would be able to do so in an expeditious way,” attorney Erika Furlong, representing NMFS, told Gleason in an October court hearing.

Gleason declined to rule on the core question but said that the rulemaking process was “fair and equitable” and “reasonably calculated to promote conservation,” whether or not it was an allocation of fishing privileges.

Gleason also ruled against the plaintiffs’ claims that the rule violated the National Environmental Policy Act and the Administrative Procedures Act.

Alaska elections officials added more than 8,500 ballots to the statewide count Wednesday afternoon, but the new ballots didn’t change the leaders of any races.

More significantly, the Alaska Division of Elections reported almost 5,000 more completed absentee ballots than it did on Tuesday morning. The division’s director did not immediately respond to an email seeking additional information.

If current trends continue, those new ballots may be significant for Ballot Measure 2, the proposed repeal of the state’s open primary election and ranked choice general election.

On Friday, “yes” on repeal led by 4,137 votes. By Tuesday evening, with more votes counted, that lead was down to 2,841 votes. The latest count shows “yes” leading by just 2,412 votes.

As of Wednesday, the Division of Elections reported having 159,345 early, absentee and questioned ballots.

Subtract ballots that the division said it included in its Election Day count and showed in its counts Tuesday and Wednesday, and the result is an estimated 30,033 uncounted ballots.

That figure isn’t likely to significantly rise, as it did on Wednesday. Almost all of the state’s absentee ballots have been returned, state figures show. Of 72,275 absentee ballots requested, 71,980 have been completed and returned.

Before Wednesday’s results update, the division said online that its “unofficial estimate of ballots left to be counted/received is approximately 35,000.”

If postmarked on or before Election Day, absentee ballots will still be counted if they reach elections officials by Nov. 15 (if mailed from within the United States) or Nov. 20 (if mailed internationally).

After Wednesday’s count, Republican U.S. House candidate Nick Begich saw his lead over Democratic incumbent Rep. Mary Peltola drop slightly.

After leading by 10,133 votes on Friday and 9,550 at the end of the day Tuesday, he’s now ahead by 9,435.

Given the mild trend and the number of ballots remaining, Peltola is unlikely to take the lead over Begich. But because Begich has less than 50% of the overall vote, ranked choice tabulation will be used on Nov. 20 to redistribute the votes of Alaskans who picked Alaskan Independence Party candidate John Wayne Howe or imprisoned, out-of-state Democratic candidate Eric Hafner.

Howe has 3.9% of the first-choice votes, and Hafner has less than 1%. 

While the Division of Elections won’t perform an official tabulation until Nov. 20, it has been regularly releasing the state’s “cast vote record,” which shows how Alaskans ranked their candidates.

Unofficial tallies show Peltola failing to gain enough second-choice votes to pass Begich in the tabulation.

Wednesday’s votes did not change downballot results. In the closest state House race, Rep. Cliff Groh, D-Anchorage, continues to lead Republican challenger David Nelson by 19 votes.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – An Anchorage middle-schooler took home a big trophy and a major wad of cash this week in a historic moment in the nation’s capital.

Romig Middle School eighth-grader Emily Brubaker took home an inaugural victory and a hefty monetary prize of $100,000 after the first National Civics Bee competition.

According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, the National Civics Bee was designed to inspire student interest in civics, with Tuesday’s inaugural National Civics Bee taking place in Washington, D.C.

Following her win in the statewide Alaska Bee in June, Brubaker and her parents headed for the capitol, along with 27 other young, civic-minded Americans.

Finalists showcased their knowledge with team challenges, presentations, and a buzzer round; the winner was ultimately decided with a final cumulative score.

With the commotion of the competition, Brubaker said she wasn’t certain if she was in first, or if her fellow contestant Michael O’Mara from Iowa would take it.

“I was so nervous, because after that fourth round — the buzzer round, where I had tied with Michael — I wasn’t sure if I even had a chance or not,” Brubaker said. “They announced the third-place winner, Keith from New Mexico, and then the second-place winner, Michael from Iowa, and then they brought out the CEO of the Daniels fund to announce the first-place winner.

“When it was me, I actually started crying on camera.”

Brubaker says she was shocked upon hearing the announcement.

She walked onstage and was handed a larger-than-life check while streamers popped out of cannons.

“There was just a moment where it clicked, like she could really win this, you know, she could actually maybe win it,” Brubaker’s father, Brian Brubaker said.

He said watching his daughter practice and perfect her speech made him proud.

Each contestant in the Bee chose a subject for a public address. Some contestants chose civic issues like gun violence or voting, but Brubaker chose a matter closer to her heart.

Born with a genetic anomaly called ectodermal dysplasia — a disorder that affects hair, skin, sweat glands and teeth — Brubaker said she has been an advocate for the Ensuring Lasting Smiles Act since she was six years old.

The ELSA act would require private insurance companies to cover services to improve the lives of people born with genetic anomalies, like ectodermal dysplasia.

Brubaker, who expects she will eventually face large amounts of dental work related to her diagnosis, believes her advocacy will greatly improve the lives of people who share her experience should ELSA pass.

“We need more advocates like you who can help get this bill passed, which can not only affect my life, but also, like many people’s lives around the country,” Brubaker said. “Even though this bill would affect the minority, it would greatly impact the lives of certain individuals.”

Brubaker departed the capitol with a winning title and a sizeable prize. She said she intends to use the $100,000 in a 529 Plan (which covers tuition or other higher education expenses) to attend MIT.

Brubaker says while she’s “only” 14, she’d like to work as a satellite and spacecraft programmer at NASA.

Her father believes her success at the Civics Bee is a relief, and removes some of the pressure families like theirs might face when their child requires more medical care than others.

“Her teeth impacts are not as bad as some other folks who have ectodermal dysplasia, but we haven’t yet had to do a lot of dental work,” Brian Brubaker said. ”It’s going to come soon, and we’ll have to do what we have to do, but for a lot of families, it’s choosing between putting money in their college fund or helping get started in life, or doing their getting their teeth done.”

The 2024 National Civics Bee only included 27 contestants, each representing a single state. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce plans to continue boosting its competition, currently intending to have all 50 states represented in 2026 for the 250th anniversary of the United States.

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