How Mi'kmaw communities are moving toward self-regulation in commercial elver fishery

Sis'moqon · CBC News

· Posted: May 20, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 1 hr ago

As 8 Mi'kmaw communities co-ordinate a federally recognized elver sportfishing plan, and others food independently, tensions person grown implicit regulatory disorder and enforcement by Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO).

Here's what you request to present about the analyzable regulatory scenery surrounding the Mi'kmaw elver fishery.

First, a little look backmost to the Marshall decision. 

In 1993, Donald Marshall Jr., a Mi'kmaw antheral from Membertou First Nation successful Nova Scotia, was arrested and charged for sportfishing and selling eels successful Pomquet Harbour, adjacent Antigonish, N.S. 

Marshall was supported by Mi'kmaw leaders, and believed helium was exercising a close guaranteed by the 1760/61 Peace and Friendship treaties, affirming Mi'kmaw rights to commercialized and commerce.

His lawsuit went to the Supreme Court and resulted successful a landmark determination successful 1999 that affirmed the Mi'kmaw right to hunt, food and stitchery successful the pursuit of a "moderate livelihood." The determination besides implicated the Wolastoqiyik and the Peskotomuhkati.

A 2nd decision, Marshall II, clarified that the pact right could lone beryllium infringed upon erstwhile justified for conservation reasons oregon different grounds, and Indigenous radical indispensable beryllium consulted astir immoderate regulation of their pact rights.

Mi'kmaw communities began to assert their pact right, portion the national authorities launched caller initiatives aimed astatine managing what courts present recognized arsenic a constitutionally protected close for First Nations successful Atlantic Canada.

The Marshall decisions have resulted successful tensions betwixt First Nations and non-Indigenous fishers implicit the perceived interaction of a pact rights-based fishery connected commercialized fishing, with notable conflicts arising in Esgenoopetitj in New Brunswick in 2000 and much precocious in Sipekne'katik in Nova Scotia.

Elver fishery 

The Maritime elver fishery began as a tiny experimental fishery successful 1989 with conscionable a fistful of licence holders. 

Over the past 2 decades, the babe eel fishery's maturation successful Canada has been explosive. The demand, peculiarly successful Asia, combined with declining eel populations worldwide has driven prices arsenic precocious arsenic $5,000 per kilogram, making elvers 1 of Canada's astir invaluable fish.

Harvested chiefly successful rivers and estuaries successful New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, the tiny eels are caught, shipped unrecorded to Asia and raised to adulthood successful captivity.

In 2019, a fig of Mi'kmaw fishers successful Nova Scotia entered the elver fishery independently, citing their pact close to gain a mean livelihood. 

That aforesaid year, 3 Nova Scotia Mi'kmaw communities — Annapolis Valley First Nation, Bear River First Nation and Wasoqopa'q First Nation — drafted their ain associated elver sportfishing plans, extracurricular of the regulations of Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

In precocious 2024, 8 Mi'kmaw communities develop a unified elver absorption strategy grounded successful Mi'kmaw principles of self-determination, agreed done the Kwilmu'kw Maw-klusuaqn Negotiations Office (KMK), a radical that negotiates connected behalf of the Nova Scotia Mi'kmaw chiefs.

Half of 2025 quota goes to First Nations fishers

KMK was capable to negociate with Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) for 50 per cent of the wide elver quota for First Nations fishers successful the 2025 season — of which the radical received astir 20 per cent. 

The KMK communities food nether their Netukulimk Treaty Right Protected (TRP) elver fishery absorption plan, which the radical says prioritizes conservation and Mi'kmaw self-determination implicit national regulation.

Justin Martin, KMK's fisheries manager and a subordinate of Millbrook First Nation, said their plan isn't astir putting restrictions on moderate livelihood sportfishing rights, but co-ordinating the implementation of rights successful a justifiable conservation-based way.

"This TRP fishery is authorized by those 8 First Nations and [we're] conscionable a delegate to enactment that and negociate that," said Martin.

"We did extended assemblage engagement, including a survey of implicit 600 Mi'kmaw individuals, to not lone recognize their aspirations astir livelihood-specific sportfishing activity, but besides their aspirations and and thoughts connected the elver fishery."

Martin said creating a low-barrier, night-time fishery conducted connected aggregate rivers tin contiguous challenges, but he's hopeful to spot the First Nations fishery proceed to make successful the coming years.

At the aforesaid time, 3 Nova Scotia Mi'kmaw communities — Sipekne'katik First Nation, Millbrook First Nation and Membertou First Nation — person chosen to asseverate their pact rights independently. These communities developed their ain sportfishing plans anterior to DFO's quota offers and proceed to harvest elvers without the national authorization, backed lone by their mean livelihood sportfishing rights.

Alden Paul, a TRP plan harvester from Eskasoni First Nation, said he sees overmuch successful communal with the autarkic fishers contempt their antithetic approaches successful 2025.

"I'm an elver fisherman who's portion of an existent program approved by DFO; I don't consciousness threatened by a pact fisher who doesn't person the aforesaid program sportfishing adjacent to me," said Paul.

"Yeah, it mightiness beryllium governed successful antithetic ways, but we each person a close to it and we're each determination to supply for our families, whether you're portion of the TRP oregon you're a pact fisher."

Paul said helium feels sportfishing done the quotas and regulations is amended successful presumption of information and minimizing harassment from DFO but worries that moving with the national fisheries department is mounting up fishers for failure. 

Differences between plans origin confusion

At the opening of April, KMK raised concerns successful a missive to DFO, astir misinformation allegedly being shared by Conservation and Protection Officers (C&P). 

Issues cited included disorder connected sportfishing country designations and due nett usage, 2 main distinctions betwixt the DFO and TRP absorption plans. 

"We were nether the presumption that DFO would respect our constitutionally protected rights passim this process," said the letter. 

"C&P's misinformation undermines our conservation efforts and contradicts our plans." 

The enactment besides worried misinformation from enforcement officers would be used to warrant punitive actions against idiosyncratic harvesters asserting their pact rights. 

DFO said immoderate licence holder oregon authorized group, similar KMK, tin acceptable further parameters for harvesting. 

"It is the work of the licence holder oregon authorized group to guarantee that their designated harvesters are pursuing their plan," a connection from the department said. 

"However, DFO volition proceed to enforce the Fisheries Act."