Tensions are high in Nova Scotia between Indigenous and non-Indigenous fisherman,
Non-Indigenous fishers in Nova Scotia claim livelihoods under threat
NEW EDINBURGH, N.S.— Twentyfour hours after it began, it came down to this: Some 30 members of the Sipekne’katik First Nation, protecting a lobster storage space Wednesday, suspiciously eyeing the 200 non-Indigenous fishermen whose trucks lined the narrow road along St. Mary’s Bay as far as the eye could see.
The mood was tense, the frustrations evident.
The previous night, somebody had severely damaged the water-filtration system in the warehouse, and torched a van in the parking lot.
In another incident on Tuesday, a Sipekne’katik fisherman found himself trapped in another lobster storage facility in nearby West Pubnico, as a mob of about 200 men gathered, some hurling rocks and racist insults, and refusing to disperse when police arrived. They had come for the lobster the fisherman had caught that day, and when he was finally able to leave the building the catch was plundered.
Sipekne’katik Chief Mike Sack said he’d been told that there had been a rally of commercial fishermen Tuesday night — the night before the opening of the local commercial lobster fishery, which includes Indigenous and non-Indigenous fishers — and that a portion of the fishers had left the rally and gone first to New Edinburgh, then to Pubnico.
Sack expressed frustration early Wednesday that the RCMP had not taken more action against members of the mob. “I can’t believe how they are getting away with these terrorist, hate-crime acts, and the police are there.”
The incidents followed almost three weeks of relative quiet between the Sipekne’katik and non-Indigenous fishers in the area after an initial — and at times, violent — backlash when the First Nation first began its “modest livelihood” fishery on Sept. 17 in the face of opposition from non-Indigenous fishers and stalled negotiations with the federal government.
The Indigenous fishers are conducting a fishery outside of the federally regulated season, pointing to a 1999 Supreme Court of Canada decision that ruled East Coast Indigenous groups have the right to fish for a “moderate livelihood,” though a second ruling stated this was subject to federal regulation.
It’s a conflict that is increasingly playing out in grassroots flare-ups between Indigenous and non-Indigenous residents of southern Nova Scotia towns that rely on the fishing industry, instead of at round tables facilitated by the federal department responsible.
Non-Indigenous commercial fishermen say the new Indigenous fishery threatens their livelihoods by depleting lobster stock. The Sipekne’katik — and the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans itself — say conservation is not an issue and that the First Nations have a treaty right to their fishery.
Jason Marr, a lobster fisher with the Sipekne’katik First Nation, said he was fishing with his two young adult daughters Tuesday when he got a message saying a large crowd of non-Indigenous fishers was causing a disturbance at a lobster pound and threatening to take lobster catches.
Marr said he asked a friend if he could store the day’s catch at his location in West Pubnico.
Then the angry crowd showed up.
“You could hear them kicking the doors, busting the side of the building with rocks,” Marr said. “Once the RCMP showed up, I thought we would be able to get out of there, but the
RCMP just stood there.”
Marr said he stayed in the pound, dodging rocks thrown by members of the crowd, until things calmed down and he could leave.
The RCMP confirmed that employees at both lobster pound locations — New Edinburgh and the one in Middle West Pubnico — were prevented from leaving while the disturbances took place. Police say they are now investigating both incidents for mischief and threats.
The series of incidents, parts of which were streamed live to Facebook, sparked an uproar within the Sipekne’katik First Nation community and across the country.
Assembly of First Nations National Chief Perry Bellegarde said the RCMP, the federal government and the provincial government need to intervene before someone gets badly injured or killed.
“The actions of non-Indigenous fishers are meant to harass and intimidate the First Nations with whom they share the waters and the resources within them,” he said in an emailed statement.
“The First Nations should not be bullied off the water in this thuggish manner.”
Federal Minister of Fisheries Bernadette Jordan said she was “appalled.”
“I am particularly disturbed to hear reports of racist comments and actions made toward First Nations peoples,” read a portion of her statement.
“Our Government is seized with the issue, and we will continue to work with both First Nations and industry leadership to find a path forward.”
She said she’s calling on all involved to remain calm, and recognize that violence will not lead to progress on the issue.
Fishers’ associations in the region unaffiliated with First Nations contend it’s up to the federal minister to make sure fisheries outfits such as the Sipekne’katik fishery don’t infringe on others’ abilities to fish, and general conservation aims.
“What’s taken place (at the lobster pounds) wasn’t organized by any fishermen’s association. We don’t condone violence,” said Colin Sproul, president of the Bay of Fundy Inshore Fishermen’s Association.
He said the frustration of many Nova Scotia fishermen has been in watching their own livelihoods falter while some — but not all — First Nations fish without the same conservation restrictions observed by other fisheries, such as the lobster season for fishing.
“We’ve seen a massive decline in landings, and with the really high capital cost of lobster fishing there’s literally nothing left for these lobster fishers and their families,” Sproul said.
The fishermen’s associations say they do not take issue with the Indigenous fishermen themselves — they take issue with what they see as a lack of enforcement by the government.
A 1999 Supreme Court decision ruled East Coast Indigenous groups have the right to fish for a “moderate livelihood”