DFO – Ku'ku'kwes News

Mi’kmaw First Nations in NL concerned over the cod fishery policy change

October 9, 2024 Aswin Nair

Mi’kmaw communities in Newfoundland and Labrador are disappointed by the recent announcement made by Fisheries and Oceans Canada to end the cod moratorium. The federal government introduced the moratorium in 1992 to preserve the northern […]

Mi’kmaw leaders accuse DFO of racism after fishermen were forced to walk at night without phones, shoes

April 3, 2024 Maureen Googoo

Mi’kmaw leaders are accusing Fishery and Oceans Canada, or DFO, of systemic racism after two Mi’kmaw fishermen from Unama’ki (Cape Breton) were forced to walk along the highway at night without their phones and shoes […]

Fisheries Court Cases Roundup: January 22-26, 2024

January 26, 2024 Maureen Googoo

January 22: Digby Provincial Court Eight Mi’kmaw fishermen from Sipekne’katik and Eskasoni First Nations were scheduled to appear in Digby Provincial Court on January 22. Levi Toney, 29, from Sipekne’katik First Nation Levi Toney is […]

Fishery court cases roundup: Jan. 15-19, 2024

January 19, 2024 Maureen Googoo

Jan. 15: Jordan Chasse, George Denny, Nathan Toney and Jonathan Johnson The fishery trial for Jordan Chasse, George Denny, Nathan Toney and Jonathan Johnson in Digby Provincial Court was adjourned on Jan. 15 due to […]

Fishery court cases roundup: Jan. 8-12, 2024

January 12, 2024 Maureen Googoo

Jan. 8: Cory Francis A new fishery charge against Cory Francis, 54, was withdrawn during a court hearing in Digby Provincial Court on Jan. 8. Francis, a member of the Wasoqopa’q (Acadia) First Nation, was […]

List of 54 Mi’kmaw fishers charged with fishery offences

September 25, 2023 Maureen Googoo

Editor’s note: Several of these court cases have been updated since this list was initially published on Sept. 25, 2023. Ku’ku’kwes News has been tracking the court cases of 54 Mi’kmaw fish harvesters from Nova […]

More than 50 Mi’kmaw fishers charged with fishery offences in Nova Scotia courts

September 25, 2023 Maureen Googoo

More than 50 Mi’kmaw fish harvesters from Nova Scotia and New Brunswick are currently before the courts in Nova Scotia on fishery-related offences. The charges range from fishing for lobster or elver eels without authorization, […]

NS Mi’kmaw leaders link lack of DFO control over elver eel fishery to shooting of Eskasoni man

April 8, 2023 Maureen Googoo

Mi’kmaw leaders in Nova Scotia are accusing the Department of Fisheries and Oceans of not doing enough to control the elver eel fishery following an alleged shooting of an Eskasoni man in Meteghan, N.S. “We […]

Elver eel fishery trials set for Mi’kmaw fishermen in Dartmouth Court

March 6, 2023 Haeley DiRisio

Editor’s note: This story was updated to include details of court proceedings that took place on Mar. 6. Several trials involving the treaty right to catch and sell fish are slated to get underway in […]

Moderate livelihood treaty right at centre of fishery trial in Nova Scotia

September 9, 2022 Maureen Googoo

A trial involving three Mi’kmaw fishermen who say they were exercising their treaty right to fish for a living when they were charged with fishery offences is currently underway in Digby, N.S. James Nevin, 38, […]

Mi’kmaw fisherman seeks court approval to fight fishery charges on constitutional grounds

August 22, 2022 Maureen Googoo

A Mi’kmaw fisherman from Nova Scotia is seeking permission from a provincial court judge to challenge fishery offences against him on constitutional grounds. Cory Francis, 53, from the Acadia First Nation near Yarmouth, N.S. argues […]

Sipekne’katik fisherman says delay in fishery launch the smart decision for now

June 5, 2021 Maureen Googoo

Robert Syliboy said he was reluctant to drop his lobster traps in St. Mary’s Bay this week. “If I put my gear in the water today, it would likely be gone by tomorrow,” the Mi’kmaw […]

United Nations committee seeks answers from Canada over racism, violence against Mi’kmaw fishers

May 11, 2021 Maureen Googoo

A United Nations committee is seeking answers from Canada regarding the racism and violence Mi’kmaw lobster fishers experienced while they exercised their treaty right to fish for a moderate livelihood in Nova Scotia last fall. […]

Sipekne’katik to resume lobster fishing under moderate livelihood June 1

April 23, 2021 Maureen Googoo

The Sipekne’katik First Nation in Nova Scotia says it plans to continue on with its own treaty fishery in St. Mary’s Bay in June despite the Department of Fisheries and Oceans’s directive that all moderate […]

Sipekne’katik sues Nova Scotia, says fish buying regulations infringe on treaty rights

February 5, 2021 Maureen Googoo

The Sipekne’katik First Nation is suing the Nova Scotia government over regulations that oversee fish and seafood sales from fish harvesters to buyers, calling them unconstitutional and an infringement of Mi’kmaw treaty rights. In the […]