Testy tuna talks cause rift between Canada, U.S. fishermen

It's not exactly as hot as the gunboat confrontations Canada once had with foreign boats over cod fishing on the East Coast.

It's not even as bitter as the 1990s clashes over West Coast salmon runs Canada shares with the United States, which included the 1997 blockade of an Alaska state ferry in Prince Rupert, B.C.

But Canada and the U.S. are getting testy over tuna.

The Canadian Press reported American tuna fishermen are upset after their Canadian port privileges were cancelled on the eve of talks aimed at renewing the three-decade treaty covering the valuable albacore tuna fishery.

The treaty has given Canadian and American fishermen the right to fish in each other's waters since 1981. The tuna fishery has a value of about $30 million a year. The agreement also allows the two countries' fishing fleets to tie up in each other's ports to get supplies and land fish.

But spokesmen for the Canadian and U.S. tuna fisheries say there's little chance the cross-border aspect of the fishery will be there this year.

Earlier this month, Fisheries and Oceans Canada issued a notice that American tuna vessels wishing to unload fish or exchange crew must submit a licence application.

"Any U.S. albacore tuna fishing vessel entering Canadian fisheries waters in contravention of Canada's Coastal Fisheries Protection Act will be subject to legal action," the notice declares, according to the Canadian Press.

Wayne Heikkila, executive director of the Western Fishboat Owners Association, based in Redding, Calif., said he's puzzled why the Canadian government has refused access for American tuna boats to Canadian waters and ports this season.

The move is a step backwards, he said.

"It's just one of those things that we shake our head. Why do they put that out?" said Heikkila. "I don't think it's going to accomplish much, but just raise the ire of more people. That's what it's done."

But Ian Bryce, a board member of the B.C. Tuna Fishermen's Association, said with no treaty currently in effect, it only makes sense to subject American boats to the same rules as other foreign vessels.

Heikkila said a one-year suspension of the treaty would actually help, allowing his association to gather data, assess fishing fleets and economic benefits. The treaty has become lopsided as the Canadian tuna fishing fleet expanded dramatically, he said.

"Most of the effort does not go into Canadian waters from U.S. boats," Heikkila said. "It comes into U.S. waters from Canadian boats."

Bryce agreed there is little chance Canadians will be fishing American waters this season. U.S. ports remain open to them but without the treaty they can't sell their fish there.

Both fishing groups blame government negotiators for not pushing talks two years ago when signs of friction surfaced.

A memo covering the treaty from a not-for-profit research group said the U.S. government and industry wasn't contributing enough to albacore science despite the fact the Canadian fleet's catch in U.S. waters had grown. It also accused the Canadians of aggressive behaviour on the fishing grounds.

"[The] U.S. government delivered the message that the formal position of the U.S. government was 'no fishing in 2012,'" read the update memo from the Canadian Highly Migratory Species Foundation.

Bryce said he's holding out hope exploratory talks involving Canadian and U.S. officials scheduled for this week in Portland, Ore., might produce some movement.

"I'm a fisherman, I'm an optimist, I'm hoping that maybe there is some opportunity to talk terms," he said.