A Darwin Award winner on a fishing forum told me that I was obligated to inform Canada Revenue of any barter I did as income
The "action" in 1999 came about by the popularity of a practice we call "Hoeing" locally.
"Hoeing" is where a group of guys/gals fish on a private boat then split the cost of fuel, drinks, bait or whatever at cost. The charter fishing industry argued that taking any form of monetary compensation constituted commercial operation of a vessel and thus required the captain to be licensed and carry commercial vessel insurance. Sounds petty, but I'll give you a little background.
The average cost "1/2 day" charter (up to 6 people) locally is $600 and up. With a Striper limit of 1 fish per person per day, it doesn't take long when the fish are "running" to catch your limit and be back to the dock in an hour or two. It works for the "once a year meat hunters"...
Then you have the guys like me that fish 8-10 hours a day, five or six days a week for the first 4 weeks of the season. Costs add up in the hurry...everyone is always on the lookout for someone who wants to go fishing the first 4 weeks of the season. I network thru a local fishing club but a lot of guys started advertising for "hoes" on the local fishing forums which got some of the charter guys really upset. Locally, quite an big issue until the language was clarified to allow for private boats to cost share
