Posted: Apr 30, 2021 6:59 PM AT | Last Updated: April 30
Boats sit in the yard at Abegweit First Nation. Community members there already fish in the commercial fishing season, but both Abegweit and Lennox Island intend to launch seperate moderate livelihood fisheries.(Nicola MacLeod/CBC)
The Epekwitk Assembly of Councils say they are continuing to consult with their community members and consider all information before launching what the First Nations call their "treaty protected," or moderate livelihood, fisheries.
Separate from the commercial fishery — for which the season starts next week — the right of the Mi'kmaq to fish and sell their catch was first established in treaties signed in the 1700s, predating Canada as a nation. Those treaties have since been affirmed under Section 35 of the Constitution and applied in decisions by the Supreme Court of Canada.