Treaty Rights Protected Fishery Update
Press Release
SEPTEMBER 13, 2023
A message for Mi’kmaw community members
Dear community members,
Last Friday, we sent a letter to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) to outline the challenges faced by Mi’kmaw harvesters who want to earn a livelihood out on the water. A copy of that letter is posted along with this update. We want you to know that we hear your struggles, we read the one-sided narratives in the news, and we are working to create a world where you can exercise your rights as Mi’kmaw to support your families and communities.
To keep everyone informed, we want to talk to you about some of the challenges we’ve seen with lobster fishing in our area. We are writing to you on behalf of several Mi’kmaw communities involved in the Treaty Rights Protected fishery, including Annapolis Valley, Bear River, Glooscap, Eskasoni, Pictou Landing, Potlotek, We’koqma’q, and Wasoqopa’q. We are all working to protect your right to fish for a livelihood in our traditional lands and waters, but the numbers paint a clear picture of how the challenges we face continue to prevent us from succeeding.
Here are the main points that we covered in our letter to DFO:
- Too few traps: In our communities combined, there were only 149 Mi’kmaq using 10,954 lobster traps in the Gulf & Maritimes Regions.
- Small % of fishery: Our 10,954 traps are equal to just 42.44 commercial lobster licenses – which is less than 1% of all licenses in the region.
- Not catching enough lobster: Between October 2022 and July 2023, Mi’kmaw harvesters only caught 193,273 pounds of lobster. This is much less than the expected amount of 1,548,600 lbs. for that number of traps.
- Comparing to others: In 2016, commercial fishermen in our area caught 168,510,000 pounds of lobster. We caught less than 0.12% of that with the same amount of time this year.
- Not a big impact: Even if we catch our expected amount, it would still be less than 1% of all lobster caught in our area.
What we would like the public to know is that as Mi’kmaw fishing for a livelihood, what we are taking has little impact on the lobster population, if any. Although participating in conservation-based data collection and reporting, we continue to face challenges from the government and non-Indigenous fishers regarding our efforts.
We recognize that many who are out fishing to earn a livelihood are continuing to struggle because of the number of traps allowed and because you’re having to fish in a mature, highly competitive space, alongside larger commercial vessels. Mi’kmaw Treaty harvesters are being harassed on wharf and water, and often find their equipment destroyed or tampered with. All these factors pose a safety risk to our harvesters and makes their already difficult job much harder. It is important to us that you know that we are voicing these concerns to DFO and pressing for change.
ILR5
