Tag Archives: treaty lobster fishery
Lennox Island treaty lobster fishery gets underway without government approval
Treaty fishers set out following a morning ceremony at the island’s harbour, a week after the P.E.I. First Nation announced it would launch a moderate living fishery without authorization from the federal government. The initial plan was to set 1,000 lobster traps during the first day of the fishery. But Chief Darlene Bernard said they had to lower that target because some of the fishers did not have enough time to prepare. The decision to launch the fishery without the government’s authorization follows two years of negotiations between Lennox Island and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans that broke down last week. >click to read< 10:08
Abegweit First Nation won’t launch treaty lobster fishery off P.E.I. this year
The community held a press conference on Friday saying it is still negotiating with DFO to get an agreement on the fishery, clarifying that it will not follow the decision of Lennox Island First Nation to launch such a fishery without the federal government’s support. Once it finalizes an agreement, Abegweit said it will launch its self-regulated moderate livelihood fishery when the community deems it is the right time. Gould wants to make sure all commercial fishers on the Island realize Lennox Island and Abegweit are separate communities, and Abegweit is conducting its own negotiations with DFO independently. Abegweit First Nation fishes commercially using communal licences owned by the band, and the chief said he is proud of the relationships his community has built with non-Indigenous harvesters in the surrounding area. >click to read< 18:07
P.E.I. – Lennox Island First Nation to launch unauthorized treaty lobster fishery
The Lennox Island First Nation says it will be launching a treaty lobster fishery off P.E.I.’s North Shore next week with or without the federal government’s support. The First Nation has a clear treaty right to harvest lobster for a moderate livelihood without the federal government’s approval, a right affirmed by the Supreme Court of Canada in the 1999 Marshall ruling. The First Nation intends to launch the treaty fishery on Saturday, May 7, weather permitting. On Thursday afternoon, the provincial fishermen’s association issued a written release, calling it “unfortunate” that discussions between the federal government, non-Indigenous fishing associations and First Nations have not taken place to discuss the requirements further. >click to read< 17:09
