Parks Canada considering Mi'kmaqled land and sea conservation area in southwest N.S.
Parks Canada says a large, Indigenous-led marine con‐ servation area proposed off the south shore of Nova Scotia "aligns" with its mandate to protect natural heritage sites.
The plan is part of a broader conservation initia‐ tive known as Pemsik, which would also include land stretching from Port Joli in Queens County to the To‐ beatic Wilderness Area.
"From a Mi'kmaw per‐ spective, it was a very impor‐ tant space to my people," says Melissa Labrador, the driving force behind Pemsik.
The vision of Pemsik, which is still in its early stages, integrates land and water, with an outline from above that resembles a grandmother petroglyph found at Kejimkujik National Park. The ocean portion is shaped like a skirt, extending seaward for dozens of kilo‐ metres.
"She is kind of the spirit behind the study area," Labrador says, adding the proposed boundaries are subject to change.
The plan includes several areas that are already pro‐ tected including the seaside portion of Kejimkujik Nation‐ al Park and a 156-hectare parcel in Port Joli preserved by the Nova Scotia Nature Trust.
"Looking at the different marine conservation tools, the Parks Canada tool, the national marine conservation area seems to be the best fit because it looks at sustain‐ able fisheries still being able to take place. It looks at cul‐ ture, looks at community, well-being," she said in an in‐ terview on the white sands of Carters Beach near Port Mouton, soon to be a provin‐ cial park and inside the Pem‐ sik study area.
Proposal submitted in 2022
The marine component of
Pemsik was proposed by the Bear River First Nation as a possible Parks Canada na‐ tional marine conservation area in 2022.
The federal agency says Pemsik is still in an ex‐ ploratory phase but it is sending positive signals.
"Parks Canada's inte‐ grated mandate to protect and present both cultural and natural heritage sites of significance to the people liv‐ ing in Canada aligns with the Indigenous-led vision of the Pemsik conservation mosa‐ ic," spokesperson Robyn Huf‐ nagel said in a statement to CBC News.
A Parks Canada represen‐ tative and Melissa Labrador met with fishermen and fish‐ ing associations earlier this month to discuss the pro‐ posal.
'We like what we heard' Dan Fleck of the Brazil Rock Lobster Association was one of the inshore fishing representatives who met with Labrador and Parks Canada.
"We like what we heard," he says.
"It protects traditional lob‐ ster grounds from offshore wind, oil and gas develop‐ ments, [fin fish] aquaculture. We look forward to seeing this in writing to confirm that what we're hearing is the fac‐ ts," Fleck told CBC News.
"We have faith in Parks Canada and Bear River," he added.
Lobster fishing sustain‐ able
Labrador said Pemsik would have no impact on lobster fishing and a small herring fishery inside the proposed national marine conservation area since both are sustainable.
"We have such great op‐ portunities to work together collaboratively so that we can leave something for the gen‐ erations yet to come," she says.
"They'll still have fisheries, they'll still have forestry, they'll still have land, natural landscapes, and that's impor‐ tant as part of this as well. Conservation doesn't mean things stop. Conservation means we stop wasting our natural resources," she says.
Some scallop dragging oc‐ curs inside Pemsik's bound‐ aries and would be prohib‐ ited in a conservation area because it disturbs the sea floor.
Parks Canada says if Pem‐ sik proceeds to a feasibility study - which Labrador ex‐ pects this summer - exten‐ sive consultation will take place with "federal and provincial departments, In‐ digenous governments, In‐ digenous organizations, local communities, key stakehold‐ ers (including industry), and the public."
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