Nic Meloney

There have been many developments for Mi'kmaw lobster harvesters&nbsp;in Nova Scotia&nbsp;since the Sept. 17 launch of Sipekne'katik First Nation's rights-based lobster fishery in&nbsp;St. Mary's Bay, N.S., but the controversial and complex issues&nbsp;surrounding it,&nbsp;and the&nbsp;push by Mi'kmaq&nbsp;for Canada&nbsp;to uphold 18th-century&nbsp;treaty rights, is far from new.&nbsp;

Livelihood or profit? Why an old fight over Indigenous fishing rights is heating up again in Nova Scotia

When a Nova Scotia First Nation launched its own self-regulated lobster fishery in September, it sparked renewed tensions with non-Indigenous commercial fishermen, protests and arrests. Here's what's behind it all.

A Sipekne'katik First Nation community member holds a drum as he sits on lobster traps in Saulnierville, N.S. on Sunday, September 20, 2020. A flotilla of non-Indigenous fishing boats moved into St. Marys Bay off western Nova Scotia on Sunday to remove lobster traps set by fishermen from the Sipekne'katik First Nation.  

NS Lobster Protest 20200920

A Sipekne'katik First Nation community member holds a drum as he sits on lobster traps in Saulnierville, N.S., on Sept. 20.

Mi'kmaq tackle decades-old standstill on fishing rights with historic, self-regulated lobster fishery

After decades of differing opinions and debate on First Nations’ right to earn a “moderate livelihood” while fishing, affirmed by a landmark Supreme Court ruling in 1999, a Mi’kmaw community in Nova Scotia has launched its own Mi’kmaq-regulated, rights-based lobster fishery.

People stand on rocks overlooking the ocean, one of them holding a red and white flag.

Members of the Sipekne'katik First Nation, supported by other First Nations, stand on the breakwater in Saulnierville, N.S., as non-indigenous boats protest the launch the Mi'kmaq self-regulated fishery on Thursday, Sept. 17, 2020.  After decades of differing opinions and debate on First Nations’ right to earn a “moderate livelihood” while fishing, affirmed by a landmark Supreme Court ruling in 1999, a Mi’kmaw community in Nova Scotia has launched its own Mi’kmaq-regulated, rights-based lobster fishery. 

Saulnierville

Sipekne'katik First Nation launched its own Mi’kmaq-regulated, rights-based lobster fishery on the 21st anniversary of the historic Supreme Court ruling in the case of Donald Marshall Jr.

To better understand what has changed — and what has not —&nbsp;since the 1999 Supreme Court ruling in the case of Mi'kmaw fisherman Donald Marshall Jr., of Membertou First Nation,&nbsp;CBC&nbsp;Indigenous reviewed&nbsp;two decades of&nbsp;coverage on the issue in the&nbsp;CBC News Archives.

The interviews and scenes captured by Atlantic region reporters as far back as 1983 show Mi'kmaw&nbsp;fishers&nbsp;have long fought to establish and protect their rights to earn a living on the water in Nova Scotia.&nbsp;

The history of the Mi'kmaw lobster fishery

To better understand what has changed - and what has not - since the 1999 Supreme Court ruling in the case of Mi'kmaw fisherman Donald Marshall Jr., CBC Indigenous reviewed two decades of coverage on Mi'kmaw fishing rights.

A few kilometers offshore from the Saulnierville wharf, up to 50 lobster fishing boats from numerous non-Indigenous fishing communities circle the first Mi’kmaw vessels drop the moderate livelihood lobster trap in September.

The history of the Mi'kmaw lobster fishery in the Atlantic region

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