Tag Archives: Sterling Belliveau

Commercial fishermen rally in Digby, Ex-fisheries minister calls for pause on out of season fishing and protests

Several hundred commercial fishermen held a rally Tuesday in Digby, N.S., as tensions continued to simmer over expanded Mi’kmaw lobster fishing in the area. There were calls for a pause on all out-of-season fishing by First Nations and an audit of commercial licences awarded to bands following the 1999 Marshall decision that recognized their right to fish for a moderate livelihood. Afterward, some fishermen gathered outside a lobster facility in New Edinburgh suspected of buying lobster harvested by Mi’kmaq fishermen when the season is closed. There was an RCMP presence at the rally, which was held on the eve of the Wednesday opening of commercial fishing in Lobster Fishing Area 35 in the Bay of Fundy. >click to read< 22:03

N.S. FREEZE ON ISSUING NEW SEAFOOD BUYERS/PROCESSTNG LICENSES

While 2018 as a year leaves us, many event announcements took place during this year. The two I personally felt got little action from the NS fishing industry, are the right whale lobster closures, and the announcement of ” NS Provincial Gov’t No Longer issuing New Seafood Buyers/Processors Licenses” – an indefinite freeze on new entrants. My old trusty dictionary states the meaning of “freeze” as an act of holding or being held at a fixed level or in a fixed state. Over my 50 plus years in this fishing industry, I recall the humble beginnings of today’s major buyers/processors as stories of starting with a single wheel barrow or perhaps NS largest buyer/processor today selling from a half ton truck on the Bedford Highway; or yes, here in my home town of an independent, family, fishermen writing an l.O.U. as a loan and today, that buyer/processor being one of the major largest players in the area. However l feel there are more of these success stories right across NS, so l ask you, the reader, to insert that success story here ( ) Sterling Belliveau >click to read<13:00