Friday, May 20, 2011

Court upholds right of First Nations to sell fish taken in commercial fishery

The British Columbia Court of Appeal has upheld the right of aboriginal groups to take part in the commercial fishery and sell what they catch, except for a specialised commercial clam fishery. The case involves a group of bands on the West Coast of Vancouver Island collectively known as the Nuu-chah-nulth, who argued they had a right to harvest and sell fish based on the practices of their ancestors.

The federal government claimed there was no evidence of a commercial fish trade by the First Nations' ancestors. However, a BC Supreme Court judge ruled that expert testimony and historic records showed the bands had a right to fish within their territories and to sell the fish. The federal government appealed that ruling but in a decision released Wednesday, the appeal court rejected the appeal, except for the geoduck clam fishery.

The court said because that fishery is a high-tech venture that has only been operational for about 35 years, the First Nations ancestors could not have taken part in such a commercial enterprise. According to an affidavit provided during the trial by the Fisheries Department, the geoduck commercial fishery requires divers to wear specialised gear as they extract geoducks, which live about a metre below the ocean floor. Read more ...

This blog is written by Martin Little, The Aquaculturists, published and supported by the International Aquafeed Magazine from Perendale Publishers
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