Petersburg Pilot -

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A few processing plants are finding themselves shorthanded as salmon catches increase around the state, but an item in pending U.S. Senate legislation could make it easier to fill vacant positions next summer.

Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Mark Begich supported language in the 2015 State and Foreign Operations spending bill that would enable Alaska's seafood processing industry to once again hire foreign students for temporary positions through a work travel program.

The J-1 visa program grants temporary visas to foreign students interested in working, and traveling, i...