Why Fisheries Policy Reform Matters More Than Ever

In mid-April, I had the honour of being invited to Ottawa to appear as a witness before the Senate Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans.

I was there alongside harvester and union leader Russel Cameron. Together, we spoke about something that has shaped my work for over a decade and is at the very core of why Skipper Otto exists in the first place:

Who actually benefits from the value of our fishery?

If you’ve been following this issue over the years, you’ll know this isn’t new.

Back in 2019, I wrote about the growing disconnect between the value of seafood and what fishing families actually earn. That gap has only widened.

What’s become increasingly clear is that this isn’t just a market problem. It’s a policy problem.

In Atlantic Canada, federal fisheries policy is guided by a clear objective:

The wealth from fisheries should remain in the hands of those who fish and be reinvested in coastal communities — not concentrated in the hands of a few corporations.

This objective is achieved in these communities through policy tools such as owner-operator and fleet separation, which ensure that licences are held and controlled by working harvesters.

But here on the West Coast, that same policy objective has never been applied. Instead, our licensing system allows licences and quota to be bought, sold, and controlled by investors, corporations, and speculative interests. The result?

Harvesters paying up to 70–80% of the value of their catch just to access fish
Declining incomes and shrinking employment
Young people locked out of the industry
Coastal communities losing economic resilience

Meanwhile, the overall value of seafood continues to grow.

That disconnect is exactly why Skipper Otto was created — to directly support small-scale independent fishing families while helping build a more just and equitable food system.

But the truth is, we cannot solve a structural policy problem through market innovation alone.

This isn’t a new issue — and it’s not a controversial one

What’s perhaps most frustrating is that this issue has already been studied multiple times.

The House of Commons Fisheries Committee examined West Coast licensing in 2019 and again in 2023. Both studies produced clear, cross-party recommendations calling for reform toward an owner-operator model.

And yet, here we are.

Still talking about whether change is needed, rather than how to implement it.

What we heard in Ottawa

The good news is that during this trip, something felt different.

Over the course of a few intense days, Russel and I met with Senators, Members of Parliament from multiple parties, senior government officials, and policy advisors across departments, and across the board, we heard the same thing: the current system isn’t working.

There is broad recognition that:

Benefits are not flowing to harvesters or communities
The industry is becoming economically unstable
We are heading toward a demographic cliff, with an aging fleet and few new entrants

So if there’s agreement on the problem… what’s holding things back?

The real barrier: how, not whether

What we’re seeing now is not opposition to change. It’s hesitation.

Government is trying to figure out how to transition a complex system without creating unintended consequences. That’s understandable. These are people’s livelihoods, life savings, and communities at stake.

But there’s also a risk in waiting.

As one person said to us in Ottawa: we may be closer to it being too late than we think.

Because the current system isn’t stable, and it’s slowly eroding the very foundation of the fishery.

What needs to happen next

At this point, the path forward is actually quite clear.

What’s needed is a Ministerial directive to set the transition in motion:

Establish a clear policy objective for the Pacific Region, consistent with Atlantic Canada
Commit to a transition toward fleet separation and owner-operator principles
Set a timeline and process for implementation
Then work fishery-by-fishery with harvesters and communities to design the details

In other words, start the process. Don’t wait for perfection.

Why this matters to you

You might be wondering what this has to do with Skipper Otto and your seafood.

Everything.

The quality, sustainability, and integrity of the seafood system you are part of depend on:

Fishing families being able to make a viable living
Knowledge and stewardship staying in coastal communities
The next generation being able to enter the fishery

When those conditions erode, so does the entire system.

This isn’t just about fairness. It’s about whether we have a fishery at all in 20 years that reflects the values we believe in.

And as many of you know, this goes beyond economics.

Commercial fishing supports entire webs of social and community life, from food-sharing networks to intergenerational knowledge and identity. These are important pieces of “social capital” that hold coastal communities together. When we lose that, we lose far more than jobs.

Where things stand now

We are at a critical moment. Momentum is building, and we’re seeing increased awareness and broad stakeholder alignment, all backed by a decade of research and recommendations.

What’s missing is decisive action.

Our work now is to keep the pressure on - constructively, collaboratively, and persistently - to ensure this moment doesn’t pass.

Sitting in those Senate chambers last week, I felt both the weight of this issue and the possibility of change. I thought about Otto. About the fishing families we work with. About the thousands of you who have chosen to be part of a different kind of seafood system.

This work has always been about more than selling fish: it’s about building a system that is fair, resilient, and rooted in community.

We’re not there yet.

But for the first time in a long time, it feels like we might actually be getting closer.