Alaska Rep. Mary Peltola will be absent from House floor to prepare fish for winter storage

Rep. Mary Peltola (D-Alaska) will not be in attendance for House votes this week, so she can prepare fish for her family.

“This week, Representative Peltola will be in the state putting up fish with family to fill freezers for the winter. Mary’s family—as well as her late husband’s family—relies in part on her for subsistence duties,” her office said in a statement.

“Representative Peltola will submit publicly available statements to the Congressional record reflecting how she would have voted if present,” the statement added.

Her office noted that she has put up fish for her family during the summer every year to prepare for the winter. Peltola also posted photos of her fishing on the social media platform X, emphasizing how important fisheries are in Alaska.

“There’s nothing quite like being out on the water. Part of the reason I’m so adamant about pro-fish policies is because I know how integral being able to count on Alaska fisheries has been and continues to be for all Alaskans,” she wrote on X.

“Together, we will preserve our fisheries, not just for the communities that rely on them today, but for future generations to experience and make memories through,” she added.

Peltola’s husband, Eugene Peltola Jr., died in a plane accident last September in Alaska. She has been serving in Congress since clinching an unexpected win in the deep-red state of Alaska in 2022.