Yes, it was an excellent relationship. There was literally a recreational fisheries division at DFO. There was a chief appointed in that area. Bill Otway was an ombudsman between Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the recreational fishing community. He was extremely competent in that role. We worked co-operatively with scientific initiatives on both coasts and inland waters.
I would say that, in my career, the one individual who stood out the most and was respected on the North American continent in multiple roles in DFO was Tom Bird.
The relationship was always cordial. It was always professional, but it was also very cognizant of things like the importance of economy. The recreational fishing industry, according to Stats Canada is an $8.6-billion economy annually. If you asked Canadians if they fish, over eight million would answer “yes”. That was confirmed the last time in 2012 by the federal survey of the importance of nature to Canadians.
I've seen it decline dramatically in that period, to the point where there was literally no relationship any longer with the fishing industry. I represent the industry and have for its entirety, since CSIA was created. In the past decade or more I cannot think of one single example where DFO has done something positive for the eight million Canadian recreational fishers.