I can't confess to an indepth knowledge of the fishery, so take my comments with a grain (or 3) of salt ....
Halibut are a public resource - no?
No one "owns" the fish until they are caught - no?
This is a finite resource - ie. one that is exhaustable - no?
In my opinion, the use that brings the most money to BC (and Canada, in turn) is the best allocation - no?
Commercial fisherman deserve to make a living - that's for sure. Just like the rest of us.
The way that halibut is currently allocated, with "slipper skippers" owning quota but never actually fishing, seems suspect at best. How can they own something that isn't really theirs?
At the end of the day, the sportsfishing industry (and all of the spin-off money that is spent) is easily the best way to stimulate an economy dependent on fishing.
If commercial fisherman had to catch fish the way sporties do, just think of the cost in, say, Jimmy Pattison's stores?
$50/lb? More?
Anyway, my $0.02 .....