A group representing commercial fishers wants the next government to crack down on illegal fishing.
The Unified Fisheries Conservation Alliance says out-of-season lobster fishing and elver poaching is creating chaos.
UFCA President Colin Sproul says enforcement is key.
“What we’d like to see is an application of the law, a strict enforcement of the law, and a respect of the Marshall decision in all its parts,” said Sproul.
Some Indigenous fishers claim it is their treaty right to fish without a federally-issued licence.
Sproul says the feds have given some commercial quota to First Nations without compensation.
“I challenge people to think how they’d feel if their property had been stolen from them from the federal government and given to someone else? It’s totally outrageous.”
Sproul adds that the alliance supports treaty rights, but management needs to be under DFO and based on science.
“We have to get back to sustainability and science, and not politics or ideology, or we could lose this resource that’s so important to all of us.”
With the election on our doorstep, he’s calling on candidates to go over five pillars that are foundational for fisheries to thrive.
They include having the same season for all harvesters, consistent and transparent enforcement and having both commercial and Indigenous fishers at the same table.
The UFCA has been given intervenor status in a Supreme Court case between the feds and the Sipekne’katik First Nation.
The two sides have been given until June to come up with an agreement through negotiations.
Sproul says the back-door secret negotiations are counter-productive.
“It will never lead to a resolution. We’ve pursued our own action, we will see Sipekne’katik’s claims tested in court. The court must define what the extent and the scope of First Nations treaty rights are, so that all parties to the fishery can clearly understand their implications.”
