Implementation of Treaty-Based Fishing Rights Continuing
The implementation of Treaty-based fishing rights for First Nations in the Maritimes and Québec is continuing through Moderate Livelihood Understandings and Rights Reconciliation Agreements with Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO).
“Second only to conservation is our responsibility to work with First Nations to further implement right-related fisheries,” said Michael Leonard, DFO’s Director of Indigenous Fisheries Management, Maritimes Region, during a technical briefing this summer on ...
Diane Lebouthillier Assumes DFO Portfolio Following Shuffle
Following a cabinet shuffle by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on July 26, Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) Minister Joyce Murray has been replaced by Diane Lebouthillier.
Lebouthillier, who previously served as the Minister of National Revenue since 2015, was born in Newport, Québec before she moved to her parent’s hometown of Gaspé. Prior to her political career, Lebouthillier worked as a social worker before she was elected a Prefect in the Le Rocher-Percé Regional County ...
“I’m Not Afraid of a Challenge”: Elvis Loveless Takes on the Fisheries Portfolio for a Second Time
Fortune Bay-Cape La Hune MHA Elvis Loveless was recently appointed to the portfolio of Minister of Fisheries, Forestry and Agriculture, a position he previously held from 2020–2021, a challenge he said he’s excited to take on once again.
There’s been no shortage of issues in the fishery in Newfoundland and Labrador of late. Loveless is coming into the portfolio during the fallout of a delayed crab season surrounding the significant drop in crab prices, as well as disagreements between ...
Getting a Piece of the Mackerel Pie
While the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) is content with Canadian fish harvesters missing out on yet another year of the Atlantic mackerel fishery, American harvesters have seen a 27 per cent reduction in quota, leaving them with a 3,539-tonne quota of this so-called shared stock.
The American quota, while under 500 tonnes short of Canada’s Total Allowable Catch (TAC) of 4,000 tonnes in 2021 (the last year Canadians were able to catch mackerel), is still a far cry from their ...
Floundering Like a Ship With No Rudder
When going through my files recently, I came across a letter from former Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Brian Peckford, dated Dec. 21, 1979, entitled Northern Cod Stocks.
One thing in that letter that really sticks out is the statement “the government of Canada is in the process of establishing the shape of things to come.”
What I can say 43 years later is things have only gotten worse with no inquiry into what happened and no plan is in place to try and restore the great cod ...
On the Waterfront – September 2023
Nova Scotia Vessel Sinks off N.L.
The Addie N’ Ainslie, a vessel based out of Sambro, N.S., sank on July 11 while fishing for halibut off the Grand Banks of Newfoundland.
After a split shaft punched a hole in the hull, the boat containing seven fish harvesters began to rapidly take on water.
The crew was able to signal first responders and cram into a lifeboat before being taken aboard a container ship. The next morning, the crew was picked up by the Canadian Coast Guard and dropped ...
The Twine Loft – September 2023
Passed On: Anthony Pothier — Lower Wedgeport, N.S. fish harvester
Pothier, 89, passed away at home on July 13, 2023. He was born on June 21, 1934. From age 14, Pothier fished with his father and soon moved on to owning his own boat. Later on in life, he participated in the Wedgeport Tuna Tournaments as a tour guide. Pothier fished as far away as Australia, where he taught locals to harpoon tuna.
Passed On: Raymond Fillier — N.L. fish harvester and fish plant worker
Fillier, 79, ...
Chalk One Up for the Underdogs
Who says you can’t take on the federal government and win?
Lobster fishermen in nearby Maine have proven that it is still possible to take on regulators and come out on top — even if it involves something as contentious and controversial as North Atlantic right whales.
Fishermen in this region are no strangers to ever-increasing regulations surrounding endangered right whales. Over the last few years, snow crab and lobster harvesters have endured numerous fishing closures due to the ...
