Governor Mike Dunleavy Proposes Salmon Farming In Alaska... Despite Our Wild Excellence

MAJOR SHIFT BY THE GOVERNOR  

Alaska Has Long Bragged About Its Unique Wild Salmon 

NOT THE FIRST TIME THE GOVERNOR HAS HAD A SIMILAR IDEA

IN 2021 HE PROPOSED INTRODUCING DEER TO THE MAT-SU 

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Scotland, Which Doesn't Really Have Wild Salmon Anymore, Is Making A Lot of Money Farming Salmon, Governor Says 

August 23, 2025 -- Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy is bucking the trend. In a surprising shift, he just proposed on Facebook that Alaskans should start farming salmon.

Pride in Alaska's high-quality uniquely wild salmon has been considered, by many Alaskans, a commonly understood shared value.

Dunleavy's post placed Alaska up against Scotland, which apparently gets $1 billion by selling farmed salmon. (According to various sources on the web,"Scottish salmon is not typically wild-caught. It's primarily farmed Atlantic salmon.") 

Wild Scottish salmon are a "protected species" with falling numbers.  The only wild populations of U.S. Atlantic salmon today are in Maine. 

Farmed salmon practices can be controversial. The fish are kept in enclosures and subject to parasites and disease. They are often kept in "sea cages", which are open net cages. Sometimes, during storms, the salmon escape. When there are diseases, the problem can be severe. According to Wikipedia, in 1984, infectious salmon anemia was found in a Norwegian salmon hatchery, and 80% of the salmon died. In British Columbia, there's currently a spread of parasitic sea lice from salmon farms into wild pink salmon on nearby rivers. 

Alaskans are proud of our wild salmon. In many parts of the world, salmon stocks were wiped out long ago in lakes and rivers. (First page of a Fish & Game informational booklet on wild Alaska salmon.) 

Salmon On The Web & In Stores 

FROM AN ALASKA DEPARTMENT OF FISH & GAME INFORMATIONAL PIECE ABOUT WILD ALASKA SALMON: 

SALMON IN ALASKA

Alaska is one of the world’s last great strongholds for healthy stocks of wild Pacific salmon and intact salmon- producing ecosystems. In contrast to salmon throughout the rest of their range, no populations of salmon in Alaska are listed as threatened or endangered. Our watersheds create ideal conditions for wild salmon. The land is laced with a rich mosaic of freshwater habitats that feed rivers leading to saltwater bays and the oceanic expanse of the North Pacific.  

 

POSTING ON U.S. SENATOR DAN SULLIVAN'S FACEBOOK SITE 

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Canadian Atlantic farmed salmon for sale in Kihei, Maui. 
(Photo, Copper River Country Journal) 

Wild salmon for sale in Alaska (Photo, Country Journal)