Tag Archives: moderate livelihood lobster fishery
DFO says it has enough resources to monitor Indigenous lobster fishing in Nova Scotia
Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) says its enforcement branch will be on the water and adequately equipped to monitor compliance of First Nations lobster fisheries this summer. The pledge follows the chaotic fishery for baby eels this spring where there was widespread illegal activity by some Indigenous and non-Indigenous harvesters. DFO shut down the legal elver fishery, affecting both commercial licence holders and Indigenous groups with fishing plans approved by the department. But “poaching”, as federal Fisheries Minister Joyce Murray called it, continued. “I want to clarify they are two very different fisheries,” Maritimes region director of conservation and protection Tim Kerr told reporters Monday in a briefing on Indigenous rights-based lobster fisheries. >click to read< 08:35
Pictou Landing to operate DFO approved moderate livelihood lobster fishery
The Pictou Landing First Nation is getting ready to operate a moderate livelihood lobster fishery in waters off Nova Scotia starting Tuesday with the approval of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. About 25 members of the community have registered to fish and sell their catch under the plan and are being issued traps and tags by the First Nation, according to Chief Andrea Paul. In a news release, the Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi’kmaw Chiefs said the Pictou Landing First Nation held formal consultations with DFO and came to an understanding without having to sign any agreements or changing its position on treaty rights. >click to read< 18:24
DFO arrests, release 3 connected with last week’s St. Marys Bay lobster shipment seizure
DFO arrested and released three more people in connection with last week’s seizure of a lobster shipment that originated from St. Marys Bay, N.S., where a controversial Mi’kmaw lobster fishery is underway. Last week, DFO said it seized a “significant quantity of lobster,” a vehicle and a trailer in New Brunswick. Two people were arrested and released. The lobsters were released back into the ocean. DFO did not say where or when the three other arrests took place. DFO declined to provide further details because both matters are part of ongoing investigations. >click to read< 22:26
Sipekne’katik files court action against Nova Scotia to claim fishing treaty right
The Sipekne’katik First Nation has filed a court action against the Attorney General of Nova Scotia to challenge a provincial regulation on purchasing fish products, saying it’s unconstitutional.,, The Sipekne’katik First Nation launched its moderate livelihood lobster fishery in September 2020,,, Though the term “moderate livelihood” was not formally defined by the court, a subsequent decision ruled that the government has the authority to impose some regulations for the purposes of conservation, subject to nation-to-nation consultations. >click to read< 10:09
Safety on the Water Must Take Precedent
The year 2020 is nearly in the rearview mirror. Feel free to take a moment and let out a collective sigh of relief here. Who knows what 2021 has in store for us, but could it possibly be any more strange, troubling or unprecedented than the last 12 months? This past year will go down in history as one of the most turbulent for the fishery in Southwest Nova Scotia. Not only was the industry rocked by the global impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, but the self-regulated, moderate livelihood lobster fishery by First Nations led to protests, disputes and dissention across the breadth of the Nova Scotia fishing community. >click to read< 08:45
Potlotek moderate livelihood lobster fishery is peaceful, but tensions aren’t far from surface
Potlotek First Nation launched the fishery under its own management plan in St. Peters Bay on Oct 1. Local non-Indigenous fishers have not interfered, but that doesn’t mean they support it. “Commercial fishermen and Aboriginal fishermen have worked side by side, and co-operatively,” he said. “That’s breaking apart right now.” For their part, the Mi’kmaq say they are tired of waiting for the Department of Fisheries and Oceans to work with them to define what constitutes a moderate livelihood. >click to read< 08:32
He had hoped to help end Nova Scotia fishery tensions, but now this union leader feels he just has to step down
It’s an ebb tide; in the afternoon sun in the Acadian fishing village of Meteghan, the Salt Shaker hangs low on the wharf. It seems appropriate. Comeau’s resignation has scuttled one of the few potential bright spots in a tumultuous week in southwestern Nova Scotia’s lobster fishery conflict; the hope that talks between him and Sipekne’katik chief, Mike Sack, might be the first steps towards a solution to the battle between Indigenous and non-Indigenous fishers.“ Now, the planned talks are dead, and the conflict that has torn the fishing community apart has no end in sight. >click to read< 08:18
N.S. fishermen’s union head quits, says lobster dispute is ‘too much of a toll’ on his family – Joel Comeau says it’s no longer safe for him to be the president of the Maritime Fishermen’s Union Local 9 in Nova Scotia. Comeau stepped down Friday ahead of a planned meeting with Sipekne’katik First Nation Chief Mike Sack to discuss the increasingly tense dispute between commercial and Mi’kmaw lobster fishermen in the province. >click to read< 10:44
Trudeau defends federal response as threats escalate over Mi’kmaw fishery in Nova Scotia
“We are expecting the RCMP and police services to do their jobs and keep people safe,” Trudeau said. On Thursday, the chief of the Sipekne’katik First Nation urged Trudeau to step in and make sure those involved in the violence are prosecuted. The vice-president of a fishermen’s union in Nova Scotia has stepped down, citing fears for his family’s safety as threats from some non-Indigenous fishermen opposed to a self-regulated Mi’kmaw lobster fishery continue to escalate. Joel Comeau, a former member of the Local 9 of the Maritime Fishermen’s Union, was supposed to meet with Sack on Friday morning but abruptly cancelled the meeting. Comeau said he’s received “a lot of flak from my people and a lot of intimidation” over his willingness to work with Sack to find a way forward. “This community is out of hand. This community feels unsafe,” said Comeau. >click to read< 16:00
Sipekne’katik First Nation issuing own lobster licences
After a blessing of its fleet on Thursday morning, the Sipekne’katik First Nation will issue lobster fishing licences at the Saulnierville wharf. On Tuesday, the Potlotek First Nation in Cape Breton sent its plan to begin a rights-based moderate livelihood lobster fishery on Oct. 1 to federal Fisheries Minister Bernadette Jordan. They weren’t asking her permission, but rather for her to consult them on what they intend to do. “We’re tired of waiting and we’re tired of being poor,” Potlotek chief Wilbert Marshall said on Wednesday. >click to read< 08:26
