Lennox Island treaty lobster fishery gets underway without government approval

The Lennox Island First Nation lobster treaty fishery launched Saturday.

Treaty fishers set out following a morning ceremony at the island's harbour, a week after the P.E.I. First Nation announced it would launch a moderate living fishery without authorization from the federal government.

The initial plan was to set 1,000 lobster traps during the first day of the fishery. But Chief Darlene Bernard said they had to lower that target because some of the fishers did not have enough time to prepare.

"We did have some issues with trying to launch a couple of our larger boats, and it was the boat hauler [who] wasn't comfortable to launch our boats because I think there were suggestions that if he did that he wouldn't launch another non-Indigenous boat," she said.

"I don't want to get upset over that. But you know, if there is an issue, then we'll deal with that by getting our own boat hauler and doing our own hauling of boats ... We're not here to cause problems."

The decision to launch the fishery without the government's authorization follows two years of negotiations between Lennox Island and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans that broke down last week.

The First Nation has a right to harvest lobster for a moderate livelihood without the government's approval as per the Supreme Court's 1999 Marshall ruling, though in a rare clarification the court did determine that Ottawa could still regulate Mi'kmaw fishers if there were justifiable concerns about conservation and there were consultations with Indigenous groups.

DFO has said the fishery is unauthorized and therefore may be subject to enforcement action, which could mean trap seizures or fines.

There were a few RCMP patrol cars stationed near the harbour during the launch.

Bernard previously told CBC News that if there was any violence in the water aimed at treaty fishers, the band will consider DFO responsible.

At the launch, she said there have been no issues with non-Indigenous fishers so far and that most people have been supportive. Bernard said she has also previously been in talks with the P.E.I. Fishermen's Association.

"I explained to them, gave them all the details of the plan. And I don't think anybody sitting in the room could really say it was unreasonable," she said.

"Certainly there's frustration ... but our rights are not contingent on that, right? Our rights are here. We have the right to a treaty fishery, and we're going to exercise that right. But certainly, you know, DFO, I feel it's their role to make that space in the commercial fishery for us."

The treaty fishery's current management plan includes: