The halibut fishermen group has 2000 members and they had great hope on the succession of Gail Shea as Minister of Fisheries & Oceans that she would recognize the unfairness of the gifting of 88 percent of the Canadian West Coast halibut TAC to 435 commercial fishermen, leaving a mere 12 percent of the TAC for 300,000 recreational fishers from the rest of Canada.
In the letter they said that they are disappointed that she has ignored the obvious unfairness of that giveaway is a complete understatement. They are in fact astounded and angry that the Minister would not even consider the compromise solutions presented by the BC Wildlife Federation and the Sports Fish Advisory Board. They have questioned that how can a Minister that claims to be serious about creating wealth and jobs for Canadians possibly make such a decision?
The have informed the Minister that the landed value of a recreationally caught halibut is worth far more than the $7/lb wholesale value for a commercially caught halibut. That thousands of jobs in BC depend on the marine recreational fishery, that there are several Court Judgments that most certainly indicate your decision is ill advised and most probably illegal.
