Following Listuguj’s statements of September 26, 2022 and the response of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, business lobster fishermen in Gaspesie are questioning who governs and manages the lobster fishery.
CHANDLER, Quebec, Oct. 05, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Today the lobster inventory is wholesome nearly in every single place in Gaspesie. However, in response to the RPPSG scientist, worrying indicators counsel that one thing is occurring in the backside of the Baie des Chaleurs in space 21B.
“Constantly since 2008, we have seen the increase in a worrying male-female ratio in fishing area 21B of Baie des Chaleurs, which is very much to the detriment of females. By 2018, less than 20% of the stock in this area was constituted of females. The proportion of the number of females is an important indicator in determining the capacity of this stock to sustain a fishing effort. The establishment of a second fishing season in Gaspesie in the fall has a direct impact on the stocks available in the spring and for the following years.” says Jean Côté, scientist at the Regroupement des pêcheurs professionnels du sud de la Gaspésie.
In the opinion of DFO scientists themselves in 2009 and 2012, the fishing effort in space 21B ought to have been decreased in order that it stays beneath historic ranges and, as they identified in 2020, the “basic principle : for conservation purposes, avoid changes that are likely to increase fishing pressure. “. In the opinion of DFO itself in 2019, the creation of a business fall fishery can solely enhance the stress on shares. However, the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans has simply approved for the second consecutive yr a business fall fishery for the Listuguj band. The band has 5 fishing licenses and in addition fishes commercially in the spring. Furthermore, DFO has simply elevated the spring fishing effort in the similar space at the request of one other band.
“We are appalled to see yet again the Department of Fisheries and Oceans ignoring stock conservation measures for sustainable fishing for all and the advice of scientists. Only the spring lobster fishery is certified sustainable by the Marine Stewartship Council through the efforts of commercial fishermen. The implementation of a set of measures that had been accepted by all the fishermen, including Listuguj, were never applied in practice to the licenses held by the Band.” stated O’Neil Cloutier “By putting conservation at the back of its decision-making, DFO is not applying the precautionary principle so that there is a sustainable fishery for all and future generations in this area. »
The Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada emphasizes a “collaborative” approach between the band rangers and the department following the establishment of a non-public protocol for cooperation in law enforcement. DFO indicates a division of roles, namely that the Listuguj rangers who have no authority under the federal Fisheries Act “will apply the whole lot that arises from the legislation on lobster, which is restricted to the first nation, and the Fishery officers are going to cowl all of the different offenses which are lined by federal fisheries legislation. »
However, solely the Parliament of Canada has the unique energy to legislate in issues of fisheries. Today we’re confronted with a fait accompli the place completely different legal guidelines and completely different administration programs apply relying on the ethnicity of a fisherman. The RPPSG is shocked that the monitoring and catch reporting measures aren’t the similar for business fishermen in the spring and the business fishermen of Listuguj in the fall. How can the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans and Listuguj, by means of an settlement negotiated and signed in secret, take away this unique energy from the Canadian Parliament with out anybody realizing?
In September 2021, the First Nation declared that it had a proper to control its affairs on its lands and waters, together with decision-making for the group’s lobster fishermen. In 2022, the First Nation declared that “Canada is lastly starting to acknowledge that the greatest means to make sure the safety and sustainability of our fisheries is to step apart and allow us to govern. »
The Department of Fisheries and Oceans has clearly misplaced management of the fisheries and has not less than given up a part of its unique accountability to make sure the administration and conservation of assets for all Canadians, whether or not they’re aboriginal or non-Aboriginal, whereas the Minister has the proper and the energy to manage the train of Aboriginal fishing rights for causes of conservation and public curiosity, because it has been acknowledged by the Supreme Court of Canada on a number of events.
Several research carried out with Canadians clearly present that they don’t want fisheries to be managed in a different way relying on whether or not they’re practiced by First Nations or Non-Natives and that the legislation ought to apply in the similar means for everybody.
