Tag Archives: Nova Scotia
Review of prosecutions in chaotic elver fishery finds cases are being pursued
An internal review into whether federal Crown attorneys are refusing to prosecute infractions related to the turbulent baby eel fishery in the Maritimes has reportedly determined that proper discretion is being used and suggests at least two dozen cases have been brought to court. The examination was launched following a formal complaint by a commercial licence holder who alleged the Public Prosecution Service of Canada was failing to prosecute cases involving the unauthorized fishing of the juvenile eels, also known as elvers. In a recent email to the licence holder, David Antonyshyn, the deputy director of prosecutions, said an examination of 70 elver files referred by fisheries officers over a four-year period found about half proceeded to or were approved for prosecution. Others are still under review, while the remainder were declined. “There was not (and there is still not) any blanket policy not to prosecute particular individuals, or not to proceed with any particular type of offence,” Antonyshyn said in the email. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 15:25
Lobster group files legal action over moderate livelihood fishery
A lobster conservation group in southwestern Nova Scotia is taking legal action against Ottawa and the Sipekne’katik First Nation over out of season fishing. The Unified Fisheries Conservation Alliance (UFCA) filed a notice of action in Supreme Court in an effort to declare the summer fishery illegal. “The Supreme Court of Canada introduced the concept of a moderate livelihood fishery via the Marshall decisions but has never adequately defined the scope and limits that should apply,” said Michel Samson, counsel with the law firm Cox & Palmer. “This has created confusion between the DFO and the Public Prosecution Service as to what laws to enforce. It is imperative that our courts provide the rules and clarity required for both the commercial fishery and for First Nation communities.” more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 13:05
DFO: Some fishery officers refusing work in N.S., citing dangerous conditions
Some fishery officers with Fisheries and Oceans Canada are refusing work in Nova Scotia out of concern for their safety, the federal department said Thursday. While DFO said in a statement it is “making every effort to minimize operational impacts,” a group representing fishermen in southwest Nova Scotia said enforcement officers are nowhere to be seen to prevent illegal fishing during the off-season. “There’s illegal fishing occurring and there is no enforcement staff on the road or on the water or on the wharfs. And it’s out of hand,” Dan Fleck, executive director of the Brazil Rock Lobster Association, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 20:33
N.S. Liberals call for new task force to improve enforcement of lobster fishery
As top fishery officials from around the country arrive in PEI for the Canadian Council of Fisheries and Aquaculture Ministers meeting Nova Scotia’s Liberals are calling for a solution to the ongoing disputes over lobster fishing. Particularly in southwest Nova Scotia tensions have been running high with indigenous lobster fishermen and commercial operators. The Indigenous fishers have a right to a moderate livelihood fishery which was upheld by the Supreme Court. While commercial fishers argue that they need to still observe fishing seasons for the overall health of the lobster fishery. At times the altercations have become violent, which the Liberals say will only continue if things go unchanged. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 07:42
N.S. swordfish harpoon fleet urged to bring tourists aboard to boost troubled sector
An environmental group says Nova Scotia’s commercial swordfish fleet could generate millions in added revenue by bringing tourists along for fishing trips and using different gear. The Ecology Action Centre says swordfish harpooning — lunging a long spear into the water to catch a fish — has become increasingly difficult and less economically viable because swordfish are appearing less often at the surface due to changing water conditions. In a report released Wednesday, the centre says changing ocean conditions are preventing fishers who use the traditional fishing method from fulfilling their already small swordfish quotas. The group’s solution is for the harpoon fleet to start using a single deepwater hook and line — called rod and reel gear — and to charge tourists to come aboard for a “once-in-a-lifetime experience.” more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 18:49
Fisheries minister announces external review of Mi’kmaw fishermen’s case
Two Mi’kmaw fishermen who were dropped off in the middle of nowhere in rural Nova Scotia in their sock feet on a cold and rainy March night, their cellphones seized by federal fisheries officers, hope an external investigation will shed some light on the actions of the officers that night. “Even though I went out and did what I did, still at the end of the day, it’s wrong what happened to me,” said Blaise Sylliboy of the Eskasoni First Nation in Cape Breton, one of the men detained for fishing for elvers at night along a river in Shelburne County early last spring. Federal Fisheries Minister Diane Lebouthillier announced in a news release Monday morning that an external review process will examine the incident on March 26, 2024, as well as department policies, enforcement practices, and “procedures to eradicate the potential for systemic biases or racism.” more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:24
Herring quota in southwestern Nova Scotia, Bay of Fundy, reduced again
The Department of Fisheries and Oceans has again lowered the Atlantic herring quota in southwestern Nova Scotia and the Bay of Fundy, this time for 2024 to 2027. DFO has announced the total allowable catch for the fishery will be 16,000 tonnes per season over those four seasons. The 2023 allocation was 21,000 tonnes. “Atlantic herring, like many fisheries, faces challenges as a result of climate change, which has led to herring that are smaller in size and that have more difficulty surviving and reproducing in their ecosystem,” says a news release from the department. “We recognize the economic impacts this decision will have on the families and communities that rely on income from fishing and processing herring. But such a decision is necessary to ensure recovery and protect the resource for future generations,” said the DFO release. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 16:40
DFO warns Canadian fishers about participating in French halibut fishery
On Friday, Fisheries and Oceans Canada issued a statement saying it has requested formal consultations under the Proces-Verbal to reach an agreement related to quota allocation. The government describes Proces-Verbal as “a treaty that has allowed Canada and France/Saint Pierre and Miquelon to cooperate on the management of fish stocks that are present in our two domestic fishing waters.” The move follows word that a French-flagged ship recently landed 30 tonnes of halibut in Saint Pierre and Miquelon that is believed to be destined for the United States via the Port of Halifax. The fish was caught outside Canada’s 200-mile limit off Newfoundland and Labrador in an area known as the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization Regulatory Area, according to industry sources. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 06:46
Sipekne’katik First Nation granted a temporary adjournment to allow for mediation with the Crown
A Nova Scotia Supreme Court judge has granted a joint request from the Sipekne’katik First Nation and the Attorney General of Canada to adjourn trial dates that would have aimed to settle treaty fishing rights disputes. The court has decided to give the involved parties until December 12, 2024, to have a defined and active mediation process in place, if not, proceeding with litigation would be re-examined. The Unified Fisheries Conservation Alliance (UFCA), which represents the interests of its members who are commercial fishers in the Gulf and Maritimes regions, asserts that the courts must finally decide the scope of Marshall rights for Indigenous Peoples. “The fact that the Sipekne’katik First Nation is attempting to settle treaty fishing rights issues outside of court is a historic precedent considering the court system has been at the center of Indigenous claims to the fishery and rights in particular for decades,” said Colin Sproul, President of the UFCA. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 15:25
Sipekne’katik First Nation, federal government to begin mediation in effort to settle fishing dispute
Litigation scheduled for next year that could have helped settle outstanding questions about treaty fishing rights related to the Marshall decisions will no longer happen, after a Nova Scotia Supreme Court judge granted a joint request from Sipekne’katik First Nation and the Attorney General of Canada to instead focus on mediation. The decision stems from a lawsuit Sipekne’katik filed in 2021 that wanted a declaration from the court that the federal Fisheries Act and regulations infringe on the treaty right to fish lobster for a moderate livelihood. That includes the prohibition on catching and holding lobsters without a licence and fishing outside of a commercial season. The trial was to start in May 2025, but this April, just as witness discovery was set to begin, the two parties served notice to the court that they’d reached an agreement to focus instead on mediation. They filed a joint request to have the trial dates and all other pretrial milestones adjourned. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 12:37
Rare blue lobster found by 82-year-old N.S. fisherman returned to the water
A rare blue lobster found by an 82-year-old Nova Scotia fisherman has been returned to the water. Richard Power of Mulgrave, N.S., caught the 3.5 pound crustacean last week in Pirate Harbour. A CTV Atlantic viewer said it was the first blue lobster he had seen in his 70 years of fishing lobsters. The lobster was then put on display at the market to allow the public to take photos and it was “safely released” to the Strait of Canso, where it was originally caught, shortly after. Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 06:48
Lobster dealer sentenced to 5 years in prison for large fraud
Terry Banks, a Brooklyn, N.S., man with a prior record for large-scale fraud, was sentenced Wednesday by Nova Scotia Supreme Court Justice Pierre Muise, in a case that reverberated in the lucrative lobster industry when charges were first laid in 2017. Crown prosecutor Rick Miller said outside the Halifax courtroom that lobster is a top Nova Scotia export and the industry deals in multimillion dollar transactions, but much of it still relies on trust, honesty and handshake deals to do business. “When you allow someone like Terry Banks to get into this industry and take advantage of that, then there’s a real detriment, because people go out of business, people lose their property, people lose their homes, their boats and everything,” he said. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 16:34
Electric lobster boats: Bringing future resiliency to energy infrastructure
It’s called The Sea Cucumber. A prototype diesel electric hybrid fishing boat made by Glas Ocean Electric in Nova Scotia. If you plug it in, it’ll charge overnight. It has 98 kilowatt hours, so you could drive to your fishing ground on diesel, operate for six to eight hours on electric power, then head home on diesel. “You can take your eight hour day now and replace six or seven of those hours with cheap electric power instead of diesel power,” The boat, which could produce fuel savings from 50 to 70 percent, was on display as part of a Nova Scotia government announcement of a new Fisheries and Aquaculture Energy Efficiency Innovation Fund for the province. Video, photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:25
Mi’kmaw fishermen say they’re being threatened, prevented from selling catch in Cape Breton
Some Mi’kmaw lobster fishermen say they’re still being prevented from earning a moderate livelihood, more than two weeks after the Department of Fisheries and Oceans began investigating allegations of trap tampering near Louisbourg, N.S. Last month, Eskasoni First Nation fisherman Charles Francis said 70 of his 178 traps were damaged. Since then, some Mi’kmaw fishermen say they have been threatened, denied fuel sales and mechanical work on their boats, and are being prevented from selling their catch by some people in or associated with the commercial fishery. “It’s pure racism,” said Michael Basque, the moderate livelihood fishery co-ordinator for Unama’ki, which is the Mi’kmaw name for Cape Breton. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 07:50
DFO enforcement official says many arrested in elver fishery will face charges
A top federal fisheries enforcement official says it’s likely many of those arrested this spring for illegally fishing for baby eels along Nova Scotia and New Brunswick rivers will be charged as part of enforcement efforts to try to rein in an out-of-control fishery. Tim Kerr, the Maritime director of conservation and protection for the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, said he believes deterrence is working, and the department intends to bring in new measures in an attempt to make sure next year’s season runs more smoothly. “We do expect a large number of charges and subsequent court appearances and decisions to be made against individuals who have been caught harvesting elver unauthorized this year,” he said in an interview Thursday. Stanley King, an elver fisherman, said this week the commercial sector has long been in favour of a traceability system, and is frustrated DFO would not introduce one early enough to potentially avoid this year’s shutdown. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 17:31
Lobster fishers want to see a crack down on poaching in southwestern Nova Scotia
The issue was raised during a meeting in Yarmouth among industry members and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO). They’re worried more moderate livelihood fishing will dominate St. Mary’s Bay. First Nations fishers maintain their Treaty rights to fish. DFO has not authorized that fishery, but they do allow some Food, Social and Ceremonial licenses. Colin Sproul with the Unified Fisheries Conservation Alliance says catches were low in the bay during the fall season. “Everybody in southwestern Nova Scotia knows why that is. I think it’s incumbent on the government to act now, before lobster fishing in St. Mary’s Bay is a thing of the past,” said Sproul. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 05:53
N.S. spends $6.5M on fund to reduce emissions from boats, commercial fisheries
Nova Scotia is seeking to cut down on greenhouse gas emissions from the seafood sector with a greenhouse gas emissions. According to a news release from the province, the Fisheries and Aquaculture Energy Efficiency Innovation Fund will support initiatives to reduce emissions from boats, buildings, aquaculture operations and commercial fisheries. “Our industries are already leaders in fighting climate change through the investments they’re making to reduce energy use,” said Kent Smith, minister of fisheries and aquaculture, in the release. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 07:18
GCIFA calls for seal population controls
The head of the Guysborough County Inshore Fisherman’s Association (GCIFA) is calling on the federal government to bring in aggressive, new “controls” on millions of hungry grey and harp seals whose sheer numbers, she says, are weakening the east coast fishery. GCIFA Executive Director Ginny Boudreau made the comment to The Journal in an interview after the release last week of the Standing Senate Committee on Fisheries and Oceans’ report, Sealing the Future, which criticized federal authorities for mismanaging the rising numbers of the animals over the years and called for an increase in their annual harvest. “It’s huge that scientists are now considering the impact of [the more than] seven million seals in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and the [nearly] 500,000 here in the Scotia-Fundy region,” Boudreau said. “It’s only ever been about the impact of the harvesters. As more accurate data comes in, I think we’re going to see the seals as the main predator.” more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 10:42
Commercial redfish fishery in Gulf of St. Lawrence expected to resume later this month
The Department of Fisheries and Oceans says the reopening of the redfish fishery in the Gulf of St. Lawrence could begin as early as June 15 and has announced the total allowable catch will be 60,000 tonnes for 2024-25. DFO announced the changes in a statement Friday. The department had said previously that the minimum allowable catch for the fishery would be 25,000 tonnes, but had not provided a cap. The commercial redfish fishery closed in 1995 over stock concerns. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 13:26
DFO investigates after dozens of lobster traps belonging to Mi’kmaw fisherman damaged
Charles Francis fishes under a moderate livelihood authorization between DFO and Mi’kmaw harvesters, which allows designated First Nations community members to catch and sell lobster during the commercial season without increasing the number of traps licensed in lobster fishing areas (LFAs). “We couldn’t believe it. At first, we thought everything was all right in this area because nobody said anything to us and nobody paid attention to us,” Francis said in an interview after landing his catch at the Louisbourg wharf last week. “All of a sudden, we come fishing Saturday and everything just turned upside down for us.” more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:17
DFO issues warnings about lobster trap tampering in Nova Scotia
The federal Fisheries Department is investigating reports of gear tampering in lobster fishing areas in eastern Nova Scotia. The department issued a statement late Thursday saying Indigenous fishers taking part in officially sanctioned moderate livelihood fisheries have reported tampering in two fishing areas, as have non-Indigenous commercial fishers. The lobster fishing areas in question are 26A, which includes the eastern half of the Northumberland Strait, and area 27, which extends from the tip of Cape Breton near Meat Cove to an area on the east side of the island near Garbarus. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 13:55
Catches up as LFA 33/34 season ends
Catches are up as lobster season comes to a close. Fishers will haul up their traps Friday for the last time until late November. Dan Fleck is the executive director of the Brazil Rock 33/34 Lobster Association. He says prices have fallen to over eight dollars a pound. “The past several weeks, catch rates have increased. It’s believed this is due to the water warming up. We believe the lobsters were there in the fall, but they weren’t crawling because the water was so cold,” said Fleck. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:01
Storm Brewing over French Halibut Fishery in Atlantic Canada
The Canadian halibut industry is accusing France of seeking an exorbitant share of the fishery in negotiations with Canada on quotas for the valuable groundfish that migrate across the jurisdictions of both countries. Canadian fishermen from Nova Scotia to Nunavut would be the losers if France prevails, said Bruce Chapman, executive director of the Atlantic Halibut Council, representing both inshore and offshore Canadian harvesters. French territorial waters extend into the Atlantic from the islands of Saint Pierre and Miquelon, 25 kilometres from the southern coast of Newfoundland and Labrador. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 06:41
Lobsters prices fall. Crates of crustaceans pile up on Cape Breton
There are so many lobsters ready for processing or live sale in some eastern Cape Breton harbours that they’re being stored temporarily in large flotillas of plastic crates. Some seafood buyers have stopped buying altogether and others are implementing daily limits on the amount of lobster they will buy. Fishermen worry the oversupply is driving down the price and while some in the industry say it could be a sign of longer term problems, one buyer says the backlog is evidence that lobster conservation efforts are working, and it will ease off in a couple of weeks. “Our processing facility is maximized daily, seven days a week and our holding facility is pretty darn full as of Saturday night,” said Osborne Burke, general manager of Victoria Co-operative Fisheries in New Haven, northern Cape Breton. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 11:41
N.S. government spends $350,000 in funding on first of its kind simulator for NSCC
The Nova Scotia government is funding a new fisheries simulator for the NSCC Shelburne Campus which will allow students to practise operating fishing vessels while on land. The simulator features navigation systems for both fishing and aquaculture, making it the first of its kind in Canada. The grant comes from the province’s Department of Advanced Education, which is spending $350,000 on the project. The province says they hope the project will help bring more participation to operations and careers involving fishing vessels, as well as help the fishing sector by bringing in a more highly skilled and experienced workforce. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:23
Nova Scotia’s Billion-Dollar Lobster Wars
At the River Café, the Michelin-recommended restaurant on the Brooklyn waterfront where the term “free-range chicken” was coined, the lobster is served butter-poached next to a pool of lemon-grape sauce, to brighten its tender brininess. The chef, Brad Steelman, insists on lobster from the cold waters of Nova Scotia, because this insures a hard shell and robust meat. Not so long ago, good lobster could be found closer to the city. Historically, there were strong harvests as far south as New Jersey. Private-equity firms and seafood conglomerates have swallowed many of North America’s fisheries. But, in Nova Scotia, most lobstermen are independent. But many inshore fishermen have also resisted a recent entrant to the power struggle: the Mi’kmaq, the most populous group of Indigenous people in Atlantic Canada. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 06:58
RCMP Officers find 1.5kg of elvers while arresting man passed out behind the wheel of his truck
An Indian Brook, N.S. man is facing charges after police say he was found impaired by drugs behind the wheel of a car in Concession, N.S., Thursday morning. According to an RCMP news release, officers and emergency responders found the man unconscious in a black Dodge Ram around 6:48 a.m. According to police, he drifted in and out of consciousness and allegedly showed signs of impairment. The man was arrested and taken to the Yarmouth RCMP Detachment, where police say he failed a sobriety test. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 07:10
MPA’s: DFO seeks to reassure fishermen after ‘scary’ map released of potential protected areas
A member of the Fisheries Department’s marine planning group was publicly challenged in Nova Scotia this week to guarantee marine protected areas will not harm the region’s inshore lobster fishery. Marty King appeared Thursday before Argyle municipal council in southwestern Nova Scotia where several areas are under consideration for protection. His appearance followed the release of DFO’s marine conservation network plan — a map with dozens of potential protected sites on the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia and the Bay of Fundy. King repeatedly stressed coastal conservation areas would have no effect on the lobster fishery. “Hopefully we’re getting the message out more and more that an MPA [marine protected area] doesn’t mean no fishing,” he said. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:49
Waters off Scotian Shelf are cooling while scientists wonder if decade-long warming trend is over
In recent years, warming temperatures have grabbed headlines, with record highs being set throughout the region. Recently, on the Scotian shelf, it has moved in the other direction. “It is really interesting,” Beazley said in a wharfside interview at the Bedford Institute of Oceanography. “We did see a continuation of the trend that we observed in 2023, which was the temperatures are actually returning to normal or even below normal conditions in some areas. It’s getting cooler.” Since 2012, ocean temperatures off Nova Scotia at depth have been consistently warmer — by about two degrees above normal. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:29
Midcoast man again charged with violating Maine’s baby eel fishing laws
A Waldoboro man who nine years ago was convicted of tax evasion and underreporting hundreds of thousands of dollars in eel fishing income has been charged again with violating Maine’s elver fishing laws. Paul J. Griffin Jr., 52, has been charged with selling juvenile eels, also known as elvers or glass eels, for cash, which is a violation of laws implemented in 2013. Despite the recent charges against Griffin and a handful of others, Maine has had a relatively low number of similar violations for the past decade. It’s been a different story across the border in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, where an alleged spree of elver poaching prompted Canada to shut down the fishery this spring. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:46
