Court dismisses First Nation request for more salmon

VANCOUVER — A British Columbia First Nation has lost a bid for a larger allocation of the scarce Fraser River sockeye salmon fishery.

The Squamish First Nation opposed a decision by Fisheries and Oceans Canada in 2014 that raised its sockeye catch from 20,000 to 30,000 fish, and also increased allotments of chum and pink salmon.

The First Nation filed an application for a judicial review after federal officials rejected its request for 70,000 sockeye for food, social and ceremonial purposes.

In a judgement posted Wednesday, Federal Court Judge Ann Marie McDonald dismisses the application, ruling the department’s regional director general of the Pacific region “made a reasonable decision in a procedurally fair manner which respected any constitutional limits on her discretion.”

The First Nation claimed its allocation of approximately five sockeye per person was far below the 48 allotted to some other Indigenous groups and was insufficient for community needs.

The 27-page ruling finds the Squamish Nation failed to show how the amount was inadequate and “did not address why other fish cannot satisfy the food needs of the community.”

The sockeye is considered a prized catch for rich flavour and firm flesh. The Squamish argued in its petition that fisheries officials didn’t explain why some groups with smaller populations received higher allocations of sockeye and also failed to consider the historical and ceremonial preference of the Squamish Nation for sockeye salmon.

McDonald says in her ruling that the nation’s allocation is both higher and lower than the more than 100 Aboriginal groups seeking a share of Fraser River sockeye, in part because fisheries officials had to make some difficult decisions.

McDonald says the balance in the decision between the preferences of all Aboriginal user groups “does not render the decision unreasonable.”