Alaska has worked hard to maintain its wild salmon reputation, and an organism such as this could erode market share and potentially destroy wild stocks through disease, cross-breeding, and competition for food and mates if it made it's way into the environment. The Food and Drug Administration recently held public hearings on the labeling of food made from AquAdvantage Salmon. Senator Begich and Rep. Young have drafted two companion bills regarding GE fish. One would prohibit FDA approval of any genetically engineered fish and, barring that, the second would require labeling of any such fish as genetically engineered.

The Alaska Marine Highway System (AMHS) is valuable in Southwest Alaska, where residents must rely on air and sea for transportation and travel within the region. At a recent community meeting in Kodiak, the importance of AMHS was brought to light as rural residents came together to discuss the prospect of expanding service to their communities. While the regional hub of Kodiak receives, on average, more than 2 sailings weekly, only one of the rural communities on the Island currently receive any service at all. The report is still far from complete, but what was certain is that participants in the dialogue gave resounding support for expanding services in the region.

In another area of expanded service, sailings to the Aleutian Chain communities and Dutch Harbor have expanded to 10 per summer, up from 6 and 7 in the previous two years, respectively. During 2006 and 2007 service was expanded temporarily to 13 sailings, about double the 10-year median of 7. As of September 20th this year, passengers embarking from Dutch Harbor numbered 515, considerably more than the past two years. This trends near the highs set with the expanded service of 2006 & 2007, with factored-in final sailing numbers yet to come in September. While more analysis is necessary, the increased passenger loads do not seem as prominent in the other Aleutian communities, when compared to the expanded service of 2006 & 2007.