A two-hour debate on Alaska fisheries issues turned contentious in its final moments as Republican U.S. House candidate Nick Begich criticized incumbent Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola over an ad stating that a Begich victory would mean “our fish are gone.”

The exchange was the lone heated issue between the two frontrunners in Alaska’s U.S. House election, which will decide one of only a few tossup races in the 435-seat House of Representatives. With the House closely divided between Republicans and Democrats, the winner of Alaska’s race is likely to help decide control of the House overall.

Tuesday’s debate was largely cordial and included an at-times-technical discussion of fisheries policy. 

Alaska supplies 60% of America’s wild-caught seafood, and the maritime industry — including fishing, processing and servicing fishing boats — is the state’s No. 1 private-sector employer.

Since her inaugural run for Congress in 2022, Peltola has advertised herself as a “pro-fish” candidate, a line that occasionally draws laughs in the Lower 48, she said.

“There’s nothing funny about fish,” she said. “This is our livelihood. 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 absolutely critical to the state’s economy and its cultural makeup.

“Fish is not a Democrat or Republican issue. 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.

Begich calls ad ‘shameful,’ Peltola says she’s standing up for self and Alaska after attacks

Peltola said that during her time in the House, 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 fisheries 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. 

“Well, that is ridiculous, and that is shameful, and for her to maybe run ads like that that she approved from her campaign, lying to the people of Alaska, that’s wrong,” he said.

The ad, as of the end of the debate, was on Peltola’s campaign website, and Begich said he wanted to bring it up because he was frustrated and he needed to bring it up at the fisheries debate.

“This is the kind of thing that gets thrown around in a campaign, and I understand there’s ads that come from super PACs, but when it’s coming directly from the campaign, it really needs to be truthful and honest,” he said. “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 rebuttal but later said, “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 went on, saying of advertising criticizing her, “There are a lot of ads out there. I know I’ve had $7 million in attack ads over the last few weeks, 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.”

That drew the night’s only round of applause from the audience.

As frontrunners face off, Howe offers bigger contrast

Tuesday night’s 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.

Under Alaska’s election system, the four highest vote-getters in the August primary election, regardless of party, advance to the general election.

“I am the third-party candidate in here; some would call it the third wheel,” he told the crowd at Kodiak’s Gerald C. Wilson Auditorium.

Two other debates are scheduled this week — one in Fairbanks and one broadcast statewide from Anchorage — but Howe was not invited to either.

The fourth candidate in the November election is Democratic candidate Eric Hafner, a non-Alaskan who is imprisoned in New York state and unable to attend debates.

Howe, a machinist from the Fairbanks area, spoke frankly to the Kodiak crowd and acknowledged his unfamiliarity with commercial fishing. At times, he intentionally drew laughs — when the candidates were asked to hold up “yes” or “no” signs stating whether they supported fish farming in Alaska, Howe made a show of looking at Begich’s “no” sign before joining Peltola and Begich in a “no” of his own.

When asked how Congress should deal with climate change’s effects on Alaska fisheries, Peltola discussed her support for renewable energy and Begich talked about programs to deal with eroding shorelines. Howe said it should be dealt with “on a personal level,” and that rising carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere may not be bad because plants and plankton need carbon dioxide to live.

“We need more in the atmosphere,” he said.

Several times Tuesday night, Peltola emphasized her willingness to listen to all sides of an issue and said that reaching consensus on fisheries issues is important. 

Begich spoke more aggressively, reminding the audience that Alaska has just one member of Congress. 

“When you think about that one member, who do you want down there fighting for you? Do you want somebody who’s going to be tough, who’s going to get involved in the discussions, who’s going to encounter people in the hallway, grab them by the neck, like Don Young did? He was tough, and he was there for 49 years. We need that toughness again.”

Bycatch draws fire from all candidates

Begich and Peltola both said they support legislation that would accelerate relief payments during disastrously low fish harvests and emphasized that the farm bill under consideration in Congress should provide more equitable treatment for Alaska seafood when compared to agricultural products that come from land. 

Howe said he also supports the relief legislation — something he wasn’t familiar with until recently — but thinks payments should come in silver or gold, rather than American dollars, which he predicted would collapse in value.

Begich and Peltola each advocated measures to reduce bycatch, the unwanted fish caught while fishers target another species. 

The state of Alaska has repeatedly closed or limited subsistence and sport salmon fisheries due to low salmon returns, but commercial fishing trawlers are permitted to catch significant numbers of salmon as bycatch in federally regulated fisheries, an 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.

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.

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. Begich and Howe said they oppose the idea.

Begich and Peltola differ on the use of foreign workers in Alaska’s fishing industry. Seafood processors frequently bring in seasonal labor under the H-1B visa program, and Peltola said she supports continuing the practice. 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,” he said.

In 2022’s four-way U.S. House race, Peltola won just under 50% of the vote within Kodiak city and its suburbs. Begich was third in the city, behind fellow Republican candidate Sarah Palin.

On Tuesday night, attendees appeared to favor Peltola marginally over Begich. During an intermission, a group of high school students rushed to take selfies with Peltola.

“She seems like a really nice person, and with her being the only woman up there, it’s really nice to see a female up there to represent,” said Jhade Luna, one of the students.

As attendees left the auditorium, many said they felt Peltola and Begich were evenly matched, with Howe trailing.

“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 Clifton Ivanoff, a fisherman.

“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. “And John Wayne Howe is something else.”