Dalhousie Buoys. Photo Credit: Dr Leigh Howarth October 2019
Dalhousie Univerity’s Biology Department has said the First Nation fishing operations in St. Mary’s Bay will not harm the fish stocks of that area.
This week the department issued a statement on the ongoing dispute which debunked one of the main claims being made by some commercial fisherman.
A common claim from the commercial fishers has been that year round fishing that is done by First Nation fishers could pose irrevocable damage to the marine life in St Mary’s Bay.
In the departments release they discredited that claim, ” There is no credibility on biological grounds to the conservation concerns, given the terms of the fishery initiated by the Mi’kmaw community.”
The terms which they reference are presumably the terms in the Friendship and Peace Treaty that limit First Nation fishing to operations that sustain “a moderate livelihood”, though that term has yet to be defined by the federal government.
The statement also denounced any acts of violence against First Nation fishers that have been done during the dispute.
In closing it called for action from the federal and provincial governments as well as asking the RCMP to protect First Nation Fishers from any acts of agression.
