Tag Archives: St. Mary’s First Nation

New Brunswick: Dispute over baby eels worth $4,900 a kilogram heads back court

Canada’s most valuable fishery per kilogram will be back before the courts in Saint John next week in a case that pits a longtime commercial licence holder against Indigenous fishers who want a piece of the elver action. On one side, the original plaintiff in the case accuses Indigenous groups of poaching the baby eels in waterways where she has exclusive rights to fish. On the other side, Indigenous groups want to exercise the right to engage in a moderate livelihood commercial fishery in their traditional territory. The court case began in April, when Holland applied for the injunction to stop Indigenous groups from fishing areas where she claims “exclusive” rights to fish, and from threatening and intimidating her workers. >click to read< 16:33

Chiefs in N.B. say DFO officers ignoring fishing rights

Indigenous chiefs in New Brunswick say the federal Fisheries Department is preventing members of the St. Mary’s First Nation from feeding their families after officers last week seized a lobster fishing boat operating in the Bay of Fundy. Canada is ignoring Indigenous rights to fish for food, social and ceremonial purposes and to a livelihood fishery, the six chiefs of the Wolastoqey Nation said Wednesday in a news release. “St. Mary’s First Nation members are being prevented from feeding their families by DFO enforcement, and at the same time DFO seems intent on escalating the situation,” the chiefs wrote. “This is creating dangerous conditions for everyone on the water.” >click to read< 12:06