A federal court has ruled that the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans cannot open a fishery in Haida Gwaii this year.
An injunction was given to the Haida Nation, against the federal government, to prevent the re-opening of a commercial herring fishery on the nation’s north coast.
“This win is another step to building herring stocks, and in doing so, contributes to an economy that will provide a reasonable living for our people, and the path of reconciliation with Canada,” said Haida Nation President Peter Lantin in a statement.
In a November 2014 memo, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans recommended that the herring fishery be opened in all five major areas of the Pacific Region, because stocks were “projected to be above the commercial cut-off level for the 2015 season.”
The Haida argued that herring stocks had not rebuilt enough to support the opening, and that the department’s management process was flawed.
