Some commercial fishermen in B.C. are suing  the Canadian government. They contend that the government has "radically restructure(ed) the commercial fishery," choking off access to publicly owned fish stocks to "confer economic and social benefits on the defendant and particular third parties," such as Native Americans. They allege that the government illegally restructured commercial fishing by imposing vessel quotas on salmon, halibut and roe herring, reducing the number of licensed commercial salmon vessels, and restricting access to certain waters.

A marine conservation group, Mission Blue, wants Canada to use next month's G20 summit to promote an end to fishing subsidies which make it impossible to achieve sustainable fisheries. They have written Prime Minister Stephen Harper to ask world leaders attending the Toronto summit to pledge not to expand fishing subsidy programs it says are helping ravage fish stocks. The organization says the world's fish stocks are on the verge of collapse because of overfishing.

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The European Union hopes to complete a reform of its Common Fisheries Policy, which it launched in 2008, by the end of next year, EU Fisheries Commissioner Maria Damanaki said on Wednesday. She spoke at an informal gathering of fisheries ministers from the 27-nation EU in Vigo, the largest fishing port in Spain. She stressed that the EU needs a 'turning point' for its policy because of 'overfishing and overcapacity of the European fleets'." The search for sustainable fisheries continues to elude the EU decades after the first CFP.

There was a discussion of the creation of transferable fishing quotas. Spain supports the establishment of a European market for fishing rights but it has found itself isolated on this point as almost all other member states opposed it, fearing the massive overcapacity of the Spanish fleet, even those who had implemented ITQs in their own waters.

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Stephen Hume in the Vancouver Sun poses the question: First nations act on the salmon crisis -- when will Ottawa? This relates to yesterday's story where Fraser River First Nations called for the resignation of DFO Minister Shea. He describes the confrontation between first nations and the sport angling industry over this season's chinook.

According to Hume, First nations want sport angling shut down where there's a likelihood of incidental mortalities among depressed Fraser chinook populations. When sport anglers intercept chinook at sea and upstream aboriginal fisheries are later closed for conservation purposes, constitutionally protected fishing rights are hijacked by a subordinate interest, first nations argue.

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