Twila I think its more the management of the DFO than the workers, preventing them from doing the job they were trained and hired to do...remember that case in campbell river...The 40 fishermen that ignored the closing and went fishing anyway. They all plead guilty, but the judge gave them absolute discharge, and criticized the DFO.
"Unquestionably on the facts of this case, the DFO has not acted in an even-handed way toward all commercial sockeye fishermen," said the judge"
"
"DFO responded to the protests by sending out officers in several boats to lay charges and used aircraft to monitor the vessels. The irony of their response, according to testimony heard during the case, was that DFO officers were given very little resources and were ordered to not lay charges against First Nations people who were illegally fishing along the Fraser River"
"The plea of budgetary constraints emerges from the evidence but the objective observer must be forgiven for a degree of skepticism in light of the fact that the DFO managed to muster men, equipment and aircraft to investigate and prosecute these non-aboriginal defendants who had the temerity to make their case publicly."
Not only did the judge criticize DFO management for their apparent pro-native bias but he also said the federal fisheries department lacks the courage to provide equal fishing opportunities to all Canadians as set out by the Supreme Court of Canada.
Soon enough we will be just like the maritimes when it comes to our fishing industry.
