First Nation on Vancouver Island declares marine protected area
Tsawout First Nation says declaration is 1st step in negotiations to manage 155 sq. km of territorial waters
The Tsawout First Nation, located 20 kilometres north of Victoria, B.C., has declared an Indigenous Protected and Conserved Area (IPCA) for 155 kilometres of ocean in its traditional waters.
The area will be called QEN'T Marine Protected Area. QEN'T — pronounced "qwant" — means "to be looking after," "caring for," or "protecting something or someone" in SENĆOŦEN.
IPCAs are an increasingly common way for First Nations to take control of how land, water, and resources are managed in their traditional territories.
While an IPCA is not a formal structure in Canadian law, nations and other levels of government can work together to determine how a particular area will be managed.
Tsawout says the declaration is the first step in that process.
"It's all about protecting the waters and the food sources that come from the waters," said Acting Chief John Etzel at a ceremony Wednesday in the nation's longhouse.
"We have a saying in First Nations around this area that when the tide is down, our table is set. That's where our food sources come from."
Tsawout is one of several nations in the area that relies heavily on the sea as a food source, traditionally travelling between village sites on different islands depending on what was in season — including crab, prawn, shrimp, salmon, and sea urchin.
Unlike many other First Nations in British Columbia, the Tsawout First Nation signed a treaty in the 19th century. It was one of the 14 Douglas Treaties, signed with the then Colony of Vancouver Island.
It promised that the nations could continue to fish and hunt but also protect and manage wildlife.
But Etzel says governments and agencies like Fisheries and Oceans Canada 9 (DFO) haven't allowed that to happen.
He said, in some cases, commercial fishers catch so much seafood that it doesn't make it into Tsawout territory. In others, the DFO closes beaches to protect a certain fishery but then won't work to reopen it.
Under the IPCA, Etzel says Tsawout will control what kind of fishing happens in the 155 square kilometres and will work to remediate beaches so that food becomes plentiful again.
Dion Joseph, with Tsawout Fisheries, says they can help the DFO co-manage fisheries in the region using local knowledge and local members.
He says they'll create a guardian program, which could patrol the area and enforce whatever restrictions the chief and council come up with.
"This will enable us to have a nice, sustainable fishery for all the people in our community, so I can put food on everybody's table," said Joseph.
He added that the work will benefit everyone, not just First Nations.
Governments asked to come to the table
Etzel called on both the federal and provincial governments to come to the table and to provide resources to help Tsawout and neighbouring First Nations protect the area.
In a statement to CBC News, the B.C. Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship wrote that it "respects and acknowledges" Tsawout's declaration.
"Whenever possible, we strive to address Indigenous-led stewardship interests, such as IPCAs, through government-to-government collaborative processes."