{"id":42335,"date":"2019-01-30T01:30:00","date_gmt":"2019-01-30T10:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/news\/capitol-live-governor-to-unveil-constitutional-amendments\/"},"modified":"2019-01-30T17:17:05","modified_gmt":"2019-01-31T02:17:05","slug":"capitol-live-governor-to-unveil-constitutional-amendments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/news\/capitol-live-governor-to-unveil-constitutional-amendments\/","title":{"rendered":"Capitol Live: Mariculture could be a $100 million industry in Alaska"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\t\t\t\t

4:30 p.m.<\/strong><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

Members of the Alaska Mariculture Task Force are giving a presentation to the Senate Resource Committee. Projections from Alaska’s Mariculture Task Force show that mariculture could become a $100 million per year industry in 20 years, in Alaska. Mariculture specifically refers to shellfish and seaweed.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

Senate Bill 22 would allow for organizations to obtain permits and enhance the habitat of shellfish in hopes of improving the seafood industry.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

The harvest of geoducks, sea cumbers, oysters, clams and king crab are some of the sea life discussed in this meeting.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

— Kevin Baird<\/em><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

3 p.m.<\/strong><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

The fight against “frankenfish” continues.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

Alaska’s senior U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski re-introduced a bill in Washington, D.C. today that would require any genetically engineered salmon to be clearly labeled as such. She has tried to pass similar legislation since July 2017.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

The Genetically Engineered Salmon Labeling Act would require genetically engineered salmon products in the U.S. market to be clearly labeled “genetically engineered” in the market name. Last month, the USDA published labeling guidelines for genetically engineered foods, including GE salmon, with requirements that Murkowski claims could confuse consumers.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

“USDA’s new guidelines don’t require mandatory labeling, and instead allows producers to use QR codes or 1-800 numbers, which is a far stretch from giving consumers clear information,” Murkowski said in a press release. “There’s a huge difference between genetically engineered salmon and the healthy, sustainably-caught, wild Alaskan salmon. We have the right to know what we’re eating. When you splice DNA from another animal and combine it with farmed salmon, you are essentially creating a new species and I have serious concerns with that. If we are going to allow this fabricated fish to be sold in stores, we must ensure there is at least clear labeling. Americans should not become test subjects for this new product without their full knowledge and consent.”<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

The bill is co-sponsored by Alaska’s junior Sen. Dan Sullivan, Maria Cantwell, D-Washington, and Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

— Mollie Barnes<\/em><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

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