Tag Archives: Indigenous fishers
In once tranquil N.S. town, intimidation in the lobster industry now all too common
Standing by a bullet hole in his dining room wall, lobster buyer Geoffrey Jobert says such attacks have become an all-too-familiar reality in Nova Scotia’s largest fishery. The 30-year-old and his younger brother came to the area from Halifax to take over his father’s processing plant five years ago and now employ 100 people. He’s enjoyed making friends in the francophone town and paddling along a stunning beach near his home when he has a few spare hours. But last year, threats started after he agreed to buy the catch of a licensed, commercial harvester who was no longer willing to provide his catch to facilities allegedly purchasing illegally caught lobster. And Jobert soon learned he wasn’t the only person in the communities along the Acadian shore who experienced late-night attacks. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 06:35
DFO ‘intellectually and morally bankrupt’ in provincial redfish allocations, N.L. minister says
Corner Brook MHA and former provincial fisheries minister Gerry Byrne says Newfoundland and Labrador deserves a higher allocation of redfish this season and is calling the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans “intellectually and morally bankrupt” in its decision-making. Nova Scotia received 33 per cent of the quota, Québec 32 per cent, New Brunswick 11 per cent and P.E.I. five per cent. Indigenous fishers and shrimp harvesters will also get an allocation of redfish following a reduction in shrimp quotas. more, >>click to read<< 08:59
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
Arrested by the Feds! Chief Mike Sack busted “for promoting an illegal fishery.”
The chief of Sipekne’katik First Nation has been arrested by federal fisheries officers on the day the band’s new treaty fishery launched in southwest Nova Scotia. Chief Mike Sack was arrested on Monday, taken to the Meteghan fisheries office and later released. DFO has not provided details of why Sack was arrested, or whether he could face charges under fisheries legislation. ‘Why would you arrest me? I haven’t done anything here,'” he said. “It just seems to be all scare tactics for the fisheries, to try to stop what we have going on.” >click to read< 15:59
Treaty rights are a provincial and federal election issue says Sipekne’katik First Nation Chief Mike Sack
The fishery offers the Mi’kmaw community in central Nova Scotia a path out of poverty, Sack said. But the strict restrictions on what Indigenous fishers can catch and sell further perpetuates the cycle of injustice,,, Indigenous fishers in Nova Scotia argue that a 1999 Supreme Court of Canada decision affirms the Mi’kmaw treaty right to fish for a “moderate livelihood” when and where they want, including outside the federally regulated commercial fishing season. Some critics, however, are quick to point out a clarification later issued by the court saying the treaty rights would be subject to federal regulations. >click to read< 16:52
