Conservation a concern for the ChippewaBy Roberta Avery
Windspeaker Correspondent
OWEN SOUND, Ont.The Chippewas of Nawash announced Aug. 16 that prime fishing areas around the Bruce Peninsula in Ontario are closed to Nawash commercial fishermen until the end of the year.
Conservation is the concern. The Nawash are not bowing to public pressure nor are they accepting an Aboriginal fishing licence issued by the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, said Chief Ralph Akiwenzie.
"Nobody should be under any illusions that we are backing down from our rightful claim to fish in Owen Sound Bay or Colpoy's Bay," Akiwenzie said. The MNR's licence was introduced earlier in the summer restricting Nawash from fishing in the two bays.
Dr. Stephen Crawford, a biologist hired by the Nawash, said the ministry has mismanaged the fishery for years. Akiwenze said the Nawash are much better equipped to manage the resource.
In May, the Nawash took over the management of its own fishery by passing a federally approved bylaw that required Nawash fishermen to hand over their catch for assessment.
Crawford said the Nawash assessment figures show that the total allowable catch - 12,852.42 kg - the Nawash set for whitefish for southern Georgian Bay this year has been reached.
Some Nawash fishermen say they were harassed by MNR conservation officers who seized their nets set in southern Georgian Bay in early August. But Akiwenzie said that such tactics by the MNR had no bearing on the decision to close down the fishing areas.
"We have worked hard with our limited resources to put our own management regime in place. Our fishermen are well regulated by it. I wish I could say the same for the recreational fishery," he said.
The Owen Sound Salmon Spectacular held in Owen Sound Bay in late August has attracted as many as 4,000 anglers who take an estimated 112,500 kg of fish in a 10-day period, said the chief.
This has the effect of giving the benefit of the fishery to the sports fishery while leaving the burden of conservation on the First Nation, said Nawash communications coordinator David McLaren.
In announcing the closing of the area to Nawash fishermen, Akiwenzie called on the ministry to close the same area to sports anglers.
The ministry refused to follow the Nawash lead and the area remains open to sports anglers.
Ministry spokesperson John Cooper said the salmon derby affects mainly Chinook salmon with "limited harvest of other species of fish."
Boat swamped in wild race for nets
By Roberta Avery
Windspeaker Correspondent
OWEN SOUND, Ont.Fighting the elements is something Francis Lavalley has known since he was 14 years old. It was then that he took up fishing to help feed his family, after his father died.
But one of his most dangerous moments on the water came not from the elements, but from being swamped by an Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources motor launch, he said.
In early August, Lavalley, 33, was fishing in his people's traditional waters just east of Owen Sound, Ont.
"I had every right to be there," said Lavalley, a member of the Chippewas of Nawash band of Cape Croker.
But the MNR motor launch swamped his seven-metre long fishing tug in a wild race to seize his nets and fish, he said.
"I am used to fighting the elements, but this was ridiculous. They deliberately swamped me. They put my life in danger to stop me reaching my nets," he said.
Lavalley had already witnessed the mess made when the MNR seized one set of Nawash nets, and he wanted to retrieve his nets before they were handled in the same way.
As the Ontario Provincial Police officers watched and did nothing, the large ministry boat repeatedly cut Lavalley off as he headed towards his nets, the fisherman accused.
At one point, fearing his boat would be smashed to pieces, he jammed the motor into reverse. His motor seized up and he could only stand by and watch as the conservation officers reeled in his nets.
"They maliciously vandalized them to stop me fishing," he said.
A provincial Aboriginal fishing licence was introduced this summer and the ministry had a warrant to seize the nets. Under the licence, which is not recognized by the Nawash, Native commercial fishermen aren't allowed to fish in that part of bay, said ministry spokesman John Cooper.
Cooper admits the ministry boat raced Lavalley to the nets.
"But there wasn't any attempt to swamp his boat," said Cooper. As for the damage to the equipment, Cooper said Lavalley's nets were old and in poor shape.
"We tried our best not do any damage."
David McLaren communications coordinator for the Chippewas of Nawash said he had an opportunity to view the nets before they were returned to Lavalley.
"They were ripped to shreds by the conservation officers who lifted them," McLaren said. He also pointed out that MNR officers seized the nets even though they had no intention of laying charges.
To add insult to injury, Lavalley was left stranded by the conservation officers. With his boat swamped and his motor stalled, Lavalley called on the MNR officers for help. They ignored his plea and he was left to sort out the problem alone.
Cooper said the ministry is not responsible for towing stranded boaters, but the conservation officers did radio the OPP to advise the authorities that Lavalley was calling for help.
Lavalley said no help came his way. Eventually, he was able to get his motor going again and return safely to shore.
Lavalley said he's disappointed that the police didn't help or intervene in the incident.
"They are supposed to be out there to protect us, but they did nothing," he said.
Owen Sound OPP Senior Const. Terry Bell said the ministry officers had a legal warrant and the OPP presence was to keep the peace and assist ministry officers.
No charges were laid against Lavalley, but his catch, estimated to be worth about $500, was donated to the Salvation Army food bank when the fisherman was late collecting it from the ministry office.
Cooper said the ministry didn't want to see the fish go waste so, when Lavalley didn't show, the fish were sent to the food bank.
Lavalley arrived the next day to find his fish gone and his nets, which he estimates to be worth $3,000, severely damaged.
In the fall of 1995, Native fishermen in the Cape Croker area of Ontario, along with their fishing equipment, became the target of violence and vandalism as tensions between fishing factions heightened. The events of that year saw the burning of a Native tugboat - it was later sunk - the sinking of a fishing boat, and the stabbing assault of four Native youths. Earlier that summer, a group of non-Native sports anglers marched on the open market at Owen Sound to protest the Native commercial fishery. That protest climaxed with a bag of fish guts being flung at a Native woman trying to sell fish.
What's all the bother? The non-Native fishery accuses the Native commercial fishery of depleting fish stocks by overfishing. The Native fishery maintains that a long history of mismanagment of the resource has led to today's problems. This mismanagment includes introducing fish species that are not indiginous to the waters for the purpose of sports fishing. In addition, according to treaty, the Natives have a constitutionally-protected fishing right to trade and barter the resource as upheld by the courts in a judgement known as the Jones-Nadjiwon decision. This right is not recognized by the province and results in the Ministry of Natural Resources harassing fishermen trying to put food on the table and a couple of dollars in their pocket.
The solution, according to the Native fishery, is a negotiated co-managment agreement with the province through which the Native people of the area will have significant say in how the resource is managed. The MNR, in return, will get the benefit of the traditional knowledge that is stored in the minds of the Native people who have fished the waters for generations.
It's been three years since the court decided for the Native commercial fishery. So far, there has been no movement toward the co-managment agreement. What is left is frustration and confusion on the part of everyone involved.
Editor's note: The Chippewas of Nawash have treaties that allow commercial fishing and is therefore not affected by the recent Supreme Court decision that Natives in British Columbia are not allowed to sell their fish. The Nawash are watching the participants at the Salmon Spectacular to record the amount of fish being taken out of the waters. Windspeaker will report on the finding next month.