HALIFAX — The federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans is investigating reports of equipment tampering in lobster fishing grounds in eastern Nova Scotia.
It released a statement Thursday evening saying that Indigenous fishermen participating in officially sanctioned moderate subsistence fisheries reported impairments in two fishing grounds, as did non-Indigenous commercial fishermen.
The lobster fishing areas in question are 26A, which includes the eastern half of the Northumberland Strait, and Area 27, which extends from the tip of Cape Breton near Meat Cove to an area of east side of the island, near Garbarus.
The ministry’s statement said conservation and protection officers have been deployed to prevent further alteration, an offense under the Fisheries Act that can result in a fine of up to $100,000.
The statement says tampering with equipment “prevents Indigenous fishermen from exercising their treaty rights and providing for their families.”
He goes on to say that moderate subsistence indigenous fishing has been permitted in the areas in question, as well as others, for four years.
The ministry also confirmed that it has reissued interim authorizations for this season to the Potlotek, Eskasoni, Pictou Landing and We’koqma’q L’nue’kati First Nations, where designated members can fish and sell lobster.
“We are working with Indigenous communities to negotiate collaborative approaches to fisheries access and management that support community members who wish to fish for moderate livelihoods, as affirmed in the Supreme Court’s Marshall decisions of Canada, the ministry said. DFO supports this suitable subsistence fishery, and fishery officers are on the ground every day, working with designated community members, to ensure they can fish within the conditions issued in their authorization, and in accordance with the measures set out in their community-developed fishing plans.”
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