Here’s a thunderbolt from the obvious: a person who catches a fish should be able to decide what to do with the fish.

Yet, here we are in 2016 and the Manitoba government just announced it will allow the province’s fishermen decide where to sell their fish.

Here’s the background. The Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation is a federal Crown Corporation. Any fish caught by Manitoba’s commercial fisheries has to be sold to Freshwater Fish Corporation. Selling a fish to anyone else is illegal.

It’s hard to imagine why the government would want to be in the fish wholesale business. But it absolutely defies logic to make it illegal for people to sell fish to anyone but the government. The Canadian Taxpayers Federation has been making this point for years.

Premier Brian Pallister has clearly decided to recognize the obvious and officially inform Ottawa that Manitoba wants out of the scheme so that people who catch fish can decide where to sell the fish.

Many people who do the fishing are happy.

“We are pleased with the Manitoba government’s decision to allow for and create flexible marketing options for commercial fishers,” said Chief Ron Evans, of Norway House Cree Nation which is home to the Norway House Fisherman’s Co-op. “We have been exploring options as of late, especially opportunities to sell rough fish to foreign markets.”

“Manitoba fishers will benefit greatly from the province’s move to create market flexibility in our commercial fishery,” said Barry Matkowski, a Gimli-area fisher. “As fishers in Manitoba, we have a great product to market and work hard to make it available to consumers in Canada and around the world.”

Even the federal NDP drew the obvious conclusion years ago.

“The government should do the right thing and allow the provinces to manage their own fisheries and let the Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation die a natural death,” said NDP MP Peter Stoffer in 2011.

But not everyone is happy to see this newfound freedom for the people who make their living by fishing.

“Some fishers may benefit from going alone, but many could find themselves struggling to get their fish to market without the corporation,” said NDP MLA Rob Altemeyer. “Small or isolated fishing communities just don’t have the resources needed to reach out to foreign markets."

Oh no. What will the commercial fishery do if it isn’t forced to sell its fish to the government? What if it can’t find buyers? Will the fish be left to rot? And the smell, what about the smell?

But Freshwater Fish has its own history of failures that made a stink. The CTF obtained documents show that it let more than 100,000 kg of fish rot from 2006 to 2009. The CTF also dug up documents showing that Freshwater Fish spent thousands of dollars on fancy meals and drinks; golf course memberships; and hockey tickets they said were necessary to close deals.

Amanda Stevenson has worked in the commercial fishery. She said when she eats on the company dime, the bill is usually less than $20. Here’s what she thought of the Freshwater Fish tabs.

“If you have a beer, pay for your own beer,” she said. “They’re not being paid to booze it up and travel all over the world.”

It sounds like the people who work in Manitoba’s commercial fisheries will do just fine selling their fish without the government’s help.