Nova Scotia MP says he faced death threats as Maritime elver fishery descended into lawlessness

MPs in Ottawa heard "alarming" accounts Thursday of failed Canadian government efforts to thwart the illegal fishery for baby eels, or elvers, earlier this year.

It included a claim that 25 tonnes of the tiny eels were flown out of Canada in illicit shipments, part of an organized crime to meet an "insatiable appetite" in China where they are grown for food.

The lawlessness even touched a Nova Scotia member of Parliament who witnessed and spoke out against widespread poaching in his riding during the springtime elver run.

"I had many constituents whose properties were being defiled, destroyed as poachers, parked and utilized their things. I had single mothers threatened by people. I had death threats, as did my wife during this time," said South Shore-St. Margarets Conservative MP Rick Perkins.

He was speaking to a session of the standing committee on Fisheries and Oceans studying illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing in response to testimony by Stanley King, a commercial elver licence-holder from Nova Scotia.

Nova Scotia licence-holder speaks out

King appeared on behalf of the Canadian Committee for a Sustainable Eel Fishery.

"Our normally peaceful industry has recently seen kidnapping, robbery, assault, gun violence and an overall disruption of the peace," King told MPs.

"To date the response from both DFO and the RCMP to this organized crime ring has been almost non-existent," King said.

China 'will buy as much as they can'

The Department of Fisheries and Oceans shut down the authorized harvest after hundreds of poachers flooded onto Nova Scotia and New Brunswick rivers lured by easy money.

Elvers can fetch up to $5,000 a kilogram, but less in illicit trade.

DFO has defended its actions saying fishery officers patrolled the rivers and made numerous arrests and seizures worth over a million dollars.

King told MPs the entire Maritime harvest  — both authorized and unauthorized — is flown live to China where the elvers are grown in aquaculture facilities to adulthood for food.

"They have an insatiable appetite for this protein source and they will buy as much as they can. Chinese buyers readily buy black- and grey-market elvers from anyone and pay in cash, which has opened the door for organized crime," King testified.

"Your testimony is alarming but I take you at your word." said P.E.I. Liberal MP Robert Morrissey who wanted to know if King had seen "bags of cash."

"Prior to all of this, we know that Chinese buyers who we have dealt with are prone to come with briefcases full of cash. So I know that that is how they operate," King responded.

'Scandalous' that shipments were missed

King claimed the amount of elvers harvested illegally that left Canada was five times official estimates.

Last week, Daniel Anson, director general of Intelligence and Investigations at Canada Border Services, told the same committee the agency looked but did not find any illicit shipments in 2023.

"To say that they did not intercept one package, not one kilogram of 25 metric tonnes coming through the airports is scandalous," King said.

In 2022, the authorized fishery was worth $47 million, shared between eight commercial licence-holders and some Mi'kmaw and Wolastoqey communities that operated with DFO approval.

Feeding Chinese demand is one complication facing the elver fishery, the other is growing demand from Indigenous communities for access, King said.

Indigenous fishing

Many Indigenous harvesters insist they have a treaty right to catch elvers and do not need DFO authorization. In Nova Scotia several First Nations launched their own elver fisheries in 2023 without DFO approval.

King argues DFO is needed to manage the fishery for conservation purposes.

"Indigenous communities want greater access to this fishery, whether they have a licence or not. So that does represent the bulk of the illegal fishers, unlicensed fishers. But it's not just local Indigenous actors," he said.

King noted other "non-First Nation fishers have capitalized on this because they've seen that there's no enforcement, nobody's minding the shop."

New Democrat MP Lisa Marie Barron from Vancouver Island in British Columbia challenged King.

"There is no actual evidence that Indigenous people are leading this illegal [fishery] or are predominantly seen participating in this illegal fishery," she said."

"No, there is specific information," King replied.

"A lot of the First Nation bands that are not working with DFO have come up with their own plan, conservation plan, fishing plan and have implemented it sort of without DFOs permission. So they will readily tell you. That is actually the majority of First Nation bands," he said.

Industry conflict over Indigenous quota

Two years ago, DFO reallocated 14 per cent of the commercial quota to First Nations. The department did not buy out existing licence-holders — known as willing buyer, willing seller — the usual method to increase Indigenous participation in a commercial fishery without increasing the overall catch.

DFO said the licence-holders wanted too much money.

Several commercial licence holders have gone to Federal court — unsuccessfully so far — trying to overturn the quota cut on the grounds they deserve compensation for the loss.

King suggested three solutions: implement a traceability system to identify the source of harvested elvers; improve enforcement; and the use of a willing buyer, willing seller approach to deliver greater Indigenous access to the fishery.

After this story was first published, Fisheries and Oceans issued a statement saying it "has never, and never will, turn a blind eye to the illegal poaching of fish stocks — including elver."

"In the 2023 elver fishing season, fishery officers were patrolling rivers, inspecting holding facilities and conducting surveillance and inspections at airports, border crossings and other exit points to ensure compliance with the regulations related to the harvest and sale of elver," DFO said in the unattributed statement.,

DFO said numerous investigations are ongoing related to unauthorized harvesting, purchase and sale of elver.

CBC has reached out to the Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi'kmaw Chiefs for comment but has not received a response.