The conflict was a microcosm of a larger trend of Indigenous communities attempting to uphold their historic rights to manage, harvest and sell fish in Canada.
Sipekne’katik chief Mike Sack said his First Nation is moving forward with plans to again open a self-regulated lobster fishery in Nova Scotia this June in defiance of the commercial season enforced by Canada’s fisheries department.
“We’re going to send a letter off to the United Nations and hope that they can come and keep the peace … and just ensure that our people are not mistreated,” Sack said during a press conference last week.
Chief Mike Sack of the Sipekneâkatik First Nation.
The Sipekneâkatik First Nation is moving ahead with another âmoderate livelihoodâ lobster fishery in St. Maryâs Bay this summer.
In a release last week, Chief Mike Sack says the season would run from June 1st to December 15th, with a break from mid-July to early September.
The break would be for the Dalhousie Marine Affairs Program to conduct a conservation study.
Chief Sack says the band will return their nine LFA 34 licenses to the federal government, which he says limits employment in the fishery to 20-25 people.
âIf we were to re-arrange those and stay within the same amount of traps and just fish at a different time of year that our smaller boats can utilize, we could have up to 200 people working a year. Itâs much better for our community.â
Sipekne katik First Nation Plans Summer Lobster Fishery country94.ca - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from country94.ca Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Michael Tutton
Michael Sack, right, chief of the Sipekne katik First Nation, presents the first lobster licence and trap tags to Randy Sack, son of the late Donald Marshall Jr., on the wharf in Saulnierville, N.S., as they launch their own self-regulated fishery on Thursday, Sept. 17, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan April 22, 2021 - 12:03 PM
HALIFAX - Ottawa and a small Mi kmaq community appear to be headed toward renewed tensions on the waters off southwest Nova Scotia as the First Nation plans another self-regulated lobster season.
The federal fisheries minister said Thursday that enforcement officers will be in place in St. Marys Bay to uphold the Fisheries Act if Sipekne katik fishers harvest lobster beginning on June 1.
Ottawa, Mi kmaq community on collision course over plan for second lobster season - Canada News castanet.net - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from castanet.net Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.