Tag Archives: defendants
U.S. Appeals Court’s unanimous decision supports shrimp trawling in state sounds
Commercial shrimpers in the state’s sounds received an overwhelming vote of confidence Monday, Aug. 7 with a unanimous decision by the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals affirming a lower court ruling dismissing complaints against shrimp trawling under the Clean Water Act. The plaintiffs contend that shrimp trawlers in Pamlico Sound are violating the Clean Water Act by engaging in two types of unpermitted activity, “throwing bycatch overboard and disturbing sediment with their trawl net. Glenn Skinner, executive director of the N.C. Fisheries Association which represents the state’s commercial fishing industry, noted that this lawsuit had far-reaching impact and could have, if approved, closed the commercial industry. The North Carolina shrimp fishery is immensely important to the state’s commercial watermen but also to the state’s economy. Much of the fishery is in Pamlico Sound and its tributaries. >click to read< 12:55
Chiefs vow to fight court action trying to limit where they can fish elvers
Indigenous groups are vowing to continue to fight a lawsuit trying to keep them off a number of waterways in southwestern New Brunswick. They also say accusations they threatened or confronted commercial fishermen are “wild allegations … and we don’t condone such behaviour,” according to a statement issued by four chiefs named in the lawsuit. “We will fight these claims in court, where we’ll argue there is no legal basis for the claims in this injunction against the Chiefs or the First Nations,” said the chiefs. The lawsuit filed by Mary Ann Holland names Neqotkuk Maliseet Nation (also known as Tobique First Nation), Sitansisk Wolastoquiyik (St. Mary’s First Nation), Welamukotok First Nation (Oromocto First Nation), and Woodstock First Nation, along with the four chiefs and some other individuals. >click to read< 19:28
Commercial elver fisher accuses Indigenous groups of poaching
A legal battle is brewing in southwestern New Brunswick between a licensed commercial eel fisher and some First Nations fishers. Mary Ann Holland, who has been fishing elvers since 1988, is accusing several Indigenous groups and individuals of poaching elvers in waterways where she has exclusive rights to fish. She has applied to the Court of Queen’s Bench for an injunction to stop them from fishing and from threatening and intimidating behaviour toward her fishers. >click to read< 10:26
