B.C. judge certifies class-action lawsuit launched by halibut fishermen

VANCOUVER – A B.C. Supreme Court judge says more than 400 commercial fishermen can sue the federal government over a halibut-management scheme that ran in the province.

Justice Susan Griffin has certified a class-action lawsuit launched by fisherman Barry Burnell against the Fisheries Department, saying it would be too expensive for individuals to pursue the case on their own.

Griffin’s written ruling says that under the program, the department allegedly held back 10 per cent of the total allowable catch and assigned it to a management society, which then resold shares to fishermen at higher costs.

It says the strategy began in 2001 but was discontinued in 2006 after the Federal Court found a similar practice on the East Coast was illegal.

Griffin says she knows of no other case where a court has awarded damages or restitution for such a fisheries’ management plan.

None of the allegations have been proven in court and a trial date has not yet been set.