Tag Archives: Nathan Cooke
DFO returns patrol boats back to the wharf in Meteghan
After a confusing week for both commercial and aboriginal fishers DFO’s patrol vessels have returned to the wharf in Meteghan. After stories on the move ran in The Chronicle Herald and Globe and Mail, the boats were returned on Sunday. Both commercial and First Nations fishers are glad they are back, though for different reasons. Chief Mike Sack said Friday they wanted a federal presence to prevent a repeat of the violence Sipekne’katik’s fishermen were subject to last fall. Commercial fishermen, meanwhile, want DFO to prevent what they allege is a large scale commercial fishery happening outside their season under the guise of a food, social and ceremonial fishery. “There’s a treaty right but where does it end and where does it begin,” said Nathan Cooke, a buyer who owns Atlantic Canada Seafoods. >click to read< 17:26
Seafood Company Owner Says It’s Unfair To Call Commercial Fishermen Racists
Nathan Cooke, the owner of the wholesaler, says he and his 12 employees have received death threats because of the Facebook posts, and there have been calls to boycott his business. Cooke claims that neither he nor the lobster fishermen are racist. Cooke also says he supports the Mi’kmaq right to fish in their native waters, as laid out in treaty agreements with Canada. But he believes fishing should happen within the DFO-defined seasons, for the sake of conservation. The issue is it hasn’t been defined yet; it’s unregulated.” “No one is denying them access and anyone would buy off them (in season), any buyer.” >click to read< 11:00
