FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 6, 2023
The Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi’kmaw Chiefs has recently been informed about an incident that happened in the Kespukwitk area yesterday, where a Mi’kmaw Elver (Katew) harvester was shot and injured.
Treaty Right Protected Harvesters from Kespukwitk have great concerns on the number of people who are out on the rivers in their region fishing for Katew (Elvers) without proper authorization, whether that be Mi’kmaw community authorization or from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO).
“We had previously expressed concerns to DFO about the safety of our harvesters in this region, but we certainly did not anticipate things going this bad, this quickly,” said Chief Gerald Toney, Fisheries Co-Lead for the Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi’kmaw Chiefs. “DFO appears to be doing little to control unlawful Elver harvest activity and to make sure our Kespukwitk fishers are safe from violence. This is unacceptable and it is time that federal officers start taking steps to ensure the safety of all.”
In recent weeks, there have been large groups of non-indigenous people taking to the rivers in Kespukwitk to harvest elvers, including with high-mortality fyke nets, raising serious conservation concerns which DFO appears to be incapable or unwilling to control. While Eel conservation is always a concern for the Nova Scotia Mi’kmaw, right now the additional issue is the intimidation and violence being suffered by our fishers.
The Mi’kmaw communities in Kespukwitk have developed a plan for their Treaty Right Protected Fishery. Our Treaty Right Protected Elver Plan does not permit fyke nets and ensures that our Fisheries Management Team knows who is fishing in what rivers and the number of Katew each harvester is taking. The Mi’kmaq expect DFO to do the same.
“We have a Constitutional Treaty Right to fish, which DFO has recognized and endorsed for this Elver fishery. The Kespukwitk Mi’kmaq understand river-specific management and we are focusing our harvesting efforts on specific river systems that DFO has agreed have available Elver stocks. DFO has an obligation to make our fishing in those specified rivers safe. Clearly from yesterday’s incident, we can see that DFO needs to do more to ensure safety on the water and to ensure that conservation and protection measures are being met,” continued Chief Toney.