The Six Chiefs of the Wolastoqey Nation issued the following joint statement in response to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans’ advisory that elver fishing in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick will be prohibited for another 45 days:

“We are deeply disappointed in the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans’ decision to continue to exclude Wolastoqey fishers from their communal commercial elver license, effectively ending the 2023 season.

We have informed our community members of the minister’s decision.

This spring, Fisheries and Oceans failed to organize a fishery that provides authorized access to Wolastoqey Nation members, failed to assemble the necessary data to manage the fishery, and failed to enforce the chaos on our rivers that ensued.

This unfairly punished the Wolastoqiyik: a treaty Nation and rights-holders as affirmed by Canada’s constitution and Canada’s Supreme Court.

The Wolastoqey Nation is prepared to assume a leadership role to correct shortcomings in the scientific knowledge of this species, and the guardianship of the species’ health.

WNNB has asked and will continue to ask the Minister and her staff to move to an

Indigenous-only elver fishery and work with us on co-management until there is enough data to determine whether a commercial fishery can be supported.

We look forward to participating in a review of this year’s fishery.”