A Department of Fisheries 'pilot project' will take three-quarters of the Nguyens' elver quota, without compensation, and offer it to First Nations and to their own employees

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Ahn Nguyen fled Vietnam with her parents when the communists took over in 1975. They lost their home and land but considered themselves fortunate to be able to start over again in Canada.

She then met her husband, Tien, and 35 years ago the family began fishing for elvers — tiny translucent baby eels netted in Maritime rivers and shipped to Asia where they are grown for food.

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“We had no experience and there were no guidelines in Canada. Licences were yours for the asking — nobody wanted them,” said Tien. “It took me 20 years to figure things out, which rivers were productive and how to keep the elvers. There was no market, the price was low but we persevered. Then about 10 years ago, the market swung up and now we are successful.”

But it turns out that in markets where your fortunes depend on the discretion of those in government, success can be fleeting.

The Nguyens have found themselves the victims of socialist central planning once again.

Ottawa has announced a “pilot project” that will take three-quarters of their quota, without compensating the Nguyens, and offer it to First Nations and to their own employees.

This is exactly what the communists did in 1975 — taking private property away. It’s nonsense

The Nguyens employ 25 fishers every year, but Tien says it will be “financially impossible” to hire that number next season if the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) follows through on its plans.

DFO has just informed him and seven other commercial elver licence holders that the bulk of their quota is being expropriated. This is being done not for conservation purposes but as part of an exercise in income redistribution: to “broaden........

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