House Fisheries committee reports resolution urging extension of ban on Russian seafood

The House Special Committee on Fisheries voted Feb. 3 to report HJR 29 — a resolution urging the president to extend executive orders that prohibit imports of Russian seafood — out of committee as amended.

The resolution, summarized to the committee by Matt Greening, staff to the House Fisheries Committee, asks the president, federal agencies and congressional delegations to extend and strengthen executive orders (named in committee text) that committee staff said prohibit the import of Russian seafood and are set to expire on April 15. Greening told members the reduction of Russian product from the domestic market has, in staff’s view, had a positive effect on prices.

Why it matters: HJR 29 seeks a federal signal to maintain or strengthen trade restrictions on seafood from Russia, a step industry and at least one public witness said preserves market value for Alaska harvesters. The committee adopted one industry-requested amendment and advanced the resolution with an accompanying fiscal note.

What happened: Chair Stutes opened the committee’s second hearing on HJR 29, recalled the committee had set an amendment deadline and introduced Amendment No. 1, described in committee as requested by industry. Amendment No. 1 adds "the Honorable Jamieson Grier, United States Trade Representative" to the list of officials to be copied on the resolution.

Representative McCabe pressed an ancillary point about federal outreach: she said she had reviewed the U.S. Trade Representative website and found no mention of Alaska seafood on the Alaska page, stating, "there is actually no mention in her page when you click on the Alaska link of Alaska seafood. None. 0." McCabe said she had written a letter to Jamieson Grier and asked the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute to do the same.

Jeremy Woodrow, identified in committee as the executive director for the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute, responded to McCabe’s request: "we hear you loud and clear, and we'll start directing that letter right away."

Public testimony: Bruce Shokler, a commercial fisherman from Kodiak who said he has fished for about 50 years, testified in support of the resolution. "It's just important that they understand that... we support this ban on Russian seafood," Shokler said, urging the committee to signal Alaskans’ support for maintaining the restriction.

Formal action: Representative Kopp moved to report HJR 29, version 34-LS1314, out of committee as amended with individual recommendations and the accompanying fiscal note. There being no objections, the committee advanced the resolution by unanimous consent; no roll-call vote was taken. The committee adopted Amendment No. 1 by unanimous consent earlier in the meeting after an objection was withdrawn.

Next steps: The committee indicated it may meet again on Thursday but said the schedule was under review; members were to be notified by the end of the day. The committee adjourned at 10:12 a.m.

Speakers quoted in this article are drawn from the committee record and public testimony.