Canada is experiencing the same thing

Currently BC fisheries management is failing local fishermen, BC fishing communities and all Canadians. The current regional management structures and the policies that allow unrestricted ownership and unlimited transferability of fishing licences and quota, are negatively affecting historical values in BC’s fishing industry. This is a fundamentally broken system and it must be fixed for the benefit of our local communities from harvest to plate.
 
The Canadian Government is managing our fisheries using policies that result in the privatization of access to fish resources.  Catch shares, in one form or another, are now used as the principle means of managing commercial fisheries on the Pacific Coast, and individual transferable quotas (ITQs) are used in 60% of BC fisheries.  The cost to purchase quota for Pacific commercial fish species has skyrocketed over the last 30 years due to concentrated ownership by a wealthy few. This has led to economic prosperity for a select few at the cost of many fishermen and coastal communities. 

Further, citizens and local small businesses -- fishmongers, chefs, restaurateurs, etc -- can not access a good supply of local fish for their dinner tables and their customers.  Currently 85% of Canadian seafood is exported while up to 93% of the seafood available to Canadians is imported. Canadian food security is in great danger when we are selling off access to one of our most important protein sources. 
 
The Pacific commercial fisheries today continue to land a significant catch and a high dollar value. It is estimated that Pacific commercial fisheries land 129,670 tonnes of fish each year [source], worth a gross landed value of $356 million [source]. However, the number of boats and fish harvesters have decreased dramatically over the last thirty years, resulting in significant job loss and economic hardship for coastal communities.