Sipekne'katik fishing vessels at the Saulnierville Wharf on Monday, August 16th, 2021 (Y95 News Photo)
The Department of Fisheries and Oceans are responding to allegations from the Sipekne’katik First Nation.
On Thursday, the band said they had lobster traps tagged ‘Food, Social and Ceremonial,’ confiscated by DFO officers in St. Mary’s Bay.
DFO says of the 10 traps they seized that day, none had FSC tags, and no vessels were seized.
The department says respectful, constructive dialogue is the best way to advance reconciliation, and implement rights-based fisheries.
They say their officers take a progressive approach on the water, including education, issuing warnings and laying charges, while using discretion as they take situational factors into consideration.
DFO says they’re committed to working on a collaborative path forward with all parties to ensure a safe, orderly and sustainable fishery for the benefit of all.
Since the commercial season ended on May 31st, the department says they’ve arrested 20 people for violations of the Fisheries Act, seized 586 lobster traps, and released over 7,400 lobster in St. Mary’s Bay.
The Sipekne’katik First Nation have been operating a treaty fishery out of the Saulnierville Wharf since mid-August.
DFO says there are Indigenous communities fishing lobster in the bay under Food, Social and Ceremonial licenses, but no other lobster fishing is currently authorized.
On Thursday, Assembly of First Nations National Chief RoseAnne Archibald visited Saulnierville Wharf.
She called on all political parties to support the development of a mandate and framework for a national secretariat to promote the implementation of all supreme court decisions related to fisheries.
Chief Archibald also called on DFO to ‘stop criminalizing treaty rights.’
