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| Falling on deaf ears: Heiltsuk leaders plead their case to gillnet fishers. |
Photo credit: Tavish Campbell/ Pacific Wild
The Heiltsuk First Nation of coastal BC has been fighting to protect herring that spawn in their traditional territory. After a 10 year moratorium on the commercial herring fishery, the DFO opened up a secret fishery against the consent of the Heiltsuk. The following resource list can be used by teachers to explore issues such traditional First Nations' rights to resources, use of the RCMP to intimidate and control First Nations people, ecological and environmental justice, as well as traditional Aboriginal harvesting methods.
Resources
Court case: Regina vs. Gladstone. (1996). Summary found 12 April 2015 at http://casebrief.wikia.com/wiki/R_v_Gladstone
DFO. (2014). Stock
assessment and management advice for British Columbia Pacific herring: 2014
status and 2015 forecast.
Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Canada. Retrieved 6 April 2015 from http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/csas-sccs/publications/sar-as/2014/2014_060-eng.pdf.
Hume, M. (2015, Apr 1). Heiltsuk First Nation claims victory
over disputed herring fishery. The Globe
and Mail. Retrieved 6
April 2015 from http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/heiltsuk-first-nation-claims-victory-over-disputed-herring-fishery/article23757390/.
Gillis, D. (2015, Apr 5). The untold story behind the
central coast herring fishery fiasco. TheCommonsenseCanadian.ca. Retrieved 6 April 2015 from http://commonsensecanadian.ca/the-untold-story-behind-the-central-coast-herring-fishery-fiasco/.
PacificWild.Org. (2015).
Pacific Wild. 2015. DFO clings to bad science, refuses to
close herring fishery in Area 7. [Motion picture]. Produced by PacificWild.org. Retrieved 6 April 2015
from https://vimeo.com/pacificwild.
Pacific Wild. (2015). First Nation defends herring against
DFO’s stealth fishery, bad science. [Motion picture].
Produced by PacificWild.org. Retrieved 6 April 2015 from https://vimeo.com/123069376.
Pacific Wild. 2015. Herring Migration. [Motion picture].
Produced by PacificWild.org. Retrieved 6 April 2015
from https://vimeo.com/123541464.
Prystupa, M. (2015, Feb 28). Feds to reopen herring fishery
despite objections by First Nations and scientists. Vancouver Observer. Retrieved 6 April
2015 from http://www.vancouverobserver.com/news/feds-reopen-herring-fishery-over-scientist-and-first-nations-objections.
Prystupa, M. (2015, Mar 23). Heiltsuk heartbroken by herring
fishery re-start, with RCMP protection. Vancouver
Observer. Retrieved 6 April 2015 from http://www.vancouverobserver.com/news/heiltsuk-heartbroken-herring-fisherys-re-start-rcmp-protection.
Thompson, C. (2014, Apr 7). Central Coast First Nation wins
victory in fight over herring fishery. Coast Mountain News. Retrieved 6 April 2015
from http://www.coastmountainnews.com/news/254239351.html.
Thompson, C. (2015, Apr
6). Controversial herring fishery on Central Coast closed after protests, occupation. Coast Mountain News. Retrieved 6 April 2015 from http://www.coastmountainnews.com/news/298811791.html
Welch, C. (2015, Feb 12). Fighting over herring: the little
fish that feeds multitudes. National Geographic. Retrieved 6 April 2015 from http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2015/02/150211-herring-decline-british-columbia-fishery-seabirds-environment/.
