DFO plans to take half the elver quota from commercial harvesters for First Nations of Canada

The Department of Fisheries and Oceans told commercial elver harvesters this week that it’s considering transferring half of their quotas to First Nations without compensation. “One goal of the department is to review access in the fishery and how to more broadly distribute the benefits to First Nations who have expressed an interest in participating,” reads the June 10 letter signed by Jacinta Berthier, DFO’s regional director of fisheries management. “The department is considering potential allocation on an ongoing basis of 50 per cent of the elver fishery’s total allowable catch (TAC) across interested First Nations in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick to support First Nations’ fishing plans supported by licences issued under the Aboriginal Commercial Fishing Licences Regulations … The redistribution would not be accompanied by financial assistance or compensation to existing licence holders.” The letter, a copy of which was obtained by The Chronicle Herald, goes on to state that ...