President Joe Biden announces that along with the European Union and the Group of Seven countries, the U.S. will move to revoke “most favored nation” trade status for Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, Friday, March 11, 2022, in the Roosevelt Room at the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

President Joe Biden announces that along with the European Union and the Group of Seven countries, the U.S. will move to revoke “most favored nation” trade status for Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, Friday, March 11, 2022, in the Roosevelt Room at the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

Alaska lawmakers applaud ban on Russian seafood

Lawmakers hope ban will increase demand for Alaska’s seafood

President Joe Biden announced a ban on Russian imports Friday, including seafood products, a move Alaska’s lawmakers have been pursuing for years.

Biden said during a news conference at the White House the U.S. was banning the importation of Russian seafood, alcohol and diamonds, according to the Associated Press. The U.S. was also downgrading its trade status with Russia allowing America and its allies to raise tariffs on Russian products.

The U.S. and many other nations have dramatically cut their ties with Russia following that country’s invasion of Ukraine.

In Alaska, the news was met with praise from lawmakers who have been calling on the federal government to ban Russian products. Russia banned imports of American seafood in 2014 in response to sanctions put on the Russian Federation following its annexation of Crimea.

Alaska’s congressional delegation has put forward bills in both the House of Representatives and Senate that would ban Russian imports, but those bills have faced opposition from lawmakers from states with seafood processing plants.

U.S. Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, both Alaska Republicans, introduced last month the U.S-Russian Federation Seafood Reciprocity Act, which would have banned the importation of Russian seafood.

[Economists explore mining’s future in Alaska]

“I appreciate and strongly support the announcement by President Biden today that the United States will ban the importation of Russian seafood,” Sullivan said in a statement. “I’ve been advocating for such a move by our federal government through legislation and advocacy with top Cabinet officials during the Obama, Trump and Biden administrations.”

U.S. Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, made similar statements Friday and said he would continue to push for his own bill to ban Russian seafood in the U.S. House of Representatives.

“I’ve spent weeks calling for a Russian seafood ban, and I’m pleased to see President Biden following my lead and taking action,” Young said. “A ban is a crucially important move, which is why I’ve been advocating so strongly for it among my colleagues in Congress.”

At the Alaska State Capitol, legislative leaders said the ban would likely increase prices for Alaskan seafood, which would benefit the state even as Alaskans pay higher prices for fish.

“I think we’re going to see a whole lot less Russian King Crab,” said Speaker of the Alaska House of Representatives, Louise Stutes, R-Kodiak. “I would say it’s worth it.”

Russia’s war with Ukraine and the resulting sanctions have shocked the global economy and led to a spike in the price of oil. Many of Alaska’s lawmakers including Gov. Mike Dunleavy have called for increased resource production in Alaska as a way of combating U.S. dependence on foreign countries.

• Contact reporter Peter Segall at psegall@juneauempire.com. Follow him on Twitter at @SegallJnuEmpire.

More in News

A map of 2025 construction projects scheduled for the Kenai Peninsula. (Provided by Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities)
Department of Transportation announces construction plans

Most of the projects include work to various major highways.

Seward City Hall is seen under cloudy skies in Seward, Alaska, on Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Seward adds full-time staffer for recently restarted teen rec room

Seward’s Parks and Recreation Department reclaimed responsibility for teen programming at the start of this year.

Gavin Ley stands with the “Go-Shopping Kart” he designed and built in his career and technical education courses at Nikiski Middle/High School in Nikiski, Alaska, on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Nikiski students learn professional skills through technical education

Career and technical education gives students opportunity to learn skills, express themselves creatively, work cooperatively and make decisions.

Nikiski teachers, students and parents applaud Nikiski Middle/High Principal Mike Crain as he’s recognized as the Alaska Association of Secondary School Principals 2025 Region III Principal of the Year by the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District’s Board of Education during their meeting in Soldotna, Alaska, on Monday, Feb. 3, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Nikiski principal named Region III principal of the year

Crain has served as Nikiski’s principal for three years.

An 86 pound Kenai River king salmon is measured in Soldotna, Alaska, on June 29, 1995. (M. Scott Moon/Peninsula Clarion File)
Kenai River king salmon fishing closed entirely for 3rd year

Kenai River king salmon were designated a stock of management concern in 2023.

The Kenai Peninsula College Main Entrance on Aug. 18, 2022, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
University of Alaska Board of Regents to meet in Soldotna

The last time the board met on the Kenai Peninsula was April 2012.

Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education member Penny Vadla and student representative Emerson Kapp speak to the joint Alaska House and Senate education committees in Juneau, Alaska, on Monday, Feb. 10, 2025. (Screenshot courtesy Gavel Alaska/KTOO)
KPBSD among dozens of districts to deliver in-person testimony to Alaska Legislature

Districts spotlighted programs already lost over years of stagnant funding that hasn’t met inflationary pressure.

Rep. Bill Elam, R-Nikiski, speaks during a town hall meeting hosted by his office at the Nikiski Community Recreation Center in Nikiski, Alaska, on Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Education dominates Elam’s 1st town hall as state rep

Education funding dominated much of the conversation.

Kenai Middle School Principal Vaughn Dosko points out elements of a redesign plan for the front of the school on Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2022, in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Work soon to begin on Kenai Middle security upgrades

The security upgrades are among several key KPBSD maintenance projects included in a bond approved by borough voters in October 2022.

Most Read