Press Release 2016-1
March 30, 2016
CONTACT:
Jerry McCune, President – Cell (907) 200-0240
Mark Vinsel, Executive Administrator
UFA Office – (907) 586-2820
UFA Endorses Lisa Murkowski for Reelection to U.S. Senate
United Fishermen of Alaska (UFA) today announced its endorsement of Senator Lisa Murkowski for the United States Senate. UFA is a statewide organization representing 34 commercial fishing associations and hundreds of independent commercial fishermen from fisheries throughout the state and its offshore federal waters. The group made the endorsement at its annual Spring meeting in February.
“With this early endorsement, Alaska fishermen are recognizing Senator Murkowski’s extraordinary efforts to improve their businesses and the communities they live in”, said UFA President Jerry McCune.
UFA provided an early endorsement for Senator Murkowski in 2004 and 2010, and now recognizes her strong accomplishments in her ensuing six years in office. The group recognized her work in 2005 to gain seafood country of origin and wild and farmed labeling as instrumental to thousands of fishing families throughout Alaska. She was honored as Person of the Year in Alaska politics in 2007 for her help to Exxon Valdez oil spill claimants with tax treatment and retirement accounts for settlement payments. Since then she helped tens of thousands of Alaska fishermen by securing a last minute temporary extension of a moratorium on EPA vessel discharge permit requirements. The Senator is now working with lawmakers from both sides of the aisle to make the exemption from the EPA requirement permanent. Senator Murkowski also helped delay FDA approval of genetically modified salmon and has pushed strongly for mandatory labeling of GM fish. The Senator has also been very involved, in close concert with Alaska’s other Senator, Dan Sullivan, in helping to develop common-sense rules regarding vessel classification for newly built commercial fishing boats as well as making sure the Alternative Safety Compliance program being developed by the Coast Guard will have the intended safety improvements without being unnecessarily and overly burdensome to small boats operating in Alaska. And finally, Senator Murkowski has led the Alaska delegation in the charge against illegal fishing and played a pivotal role in passing bi-partisan legislation in Congress last year that would help eliminate illegal seafood imports from entering the US market.
“With this early endorsement, UFA recognizes the record of Senator Murkowski’s awareness and effectiveness in helping Alaska’s fishing families and businesses. She has risen in her stature in the Senate and worked successfully on our behalf on a wide variety of issues that affect our members, and we look forward to working with her and her staff in the future.” said UFA President Jerry McCune.
UFA notes that not all UFA member groups participate in its candidate endorsements.