Mr. Bouzan, I very strongly agree with you that the issuance of tags for a recreational or food fishery is highly unusual.
I come from Manitoba where the walleye is the main species. People are allowed a limit of six per day and they fish all year round. Of course, there are indirect ways to determine the health of a stock such as the age structure, growth rates, and so on.
Does DFO do any creel census work on the food fishery?