SYDNEY, N.S. — Potlotek First Nation launched its moderate livelihood fishery plan about a week ago on Oct. 1 and so far, things have been smooth sailing.
Potlotek CEO Crystal Nicholas said they haven’t seen the same kind of tensions seen at Saulinerville wharf when Sipekne'katik First Nation launched its moderate livelihood plan three weeks ago. Nicholas does believe more people need to be taught about treaty education and she hopes the general public understands modern science and conservation went into Potlotek's moderate livelihood plan.
“We are the keepers of the land, why would we do anything to hinder it? It was given to us to take care of,” said Nicholas.
She said the moderate livelihood fishery is small and doesn’t expect the fishery to have more than eight boats. The community launched its plan with two boats and 235 tags and so far they’ve given out about 1,000 fishing tags.
Nicholas says the fishers generally come back with catches daily, but it's been modest.
“So far it's been slow, but I don’t expect it to be large. We are a small community,” said Nicholas.
Potlotek has about 600 members and the food and ceremonial fishery are separate from the moderate livelihood plan. The money made by the moderate livelihood fishers is theirs to keep upon selling their product but Nicholas says their tags are issued once they qualify to register.
First, the fishers must be band members of Potlotek, they're vessel and traps must meet safety standards and they must provide the registry with potential buyers.
“It’s their moderate livelihood, it is to assist them in their moderate livelihood,” Nicholas.
Potlotek’s moderate livelihood took months to put together and was inclusive of netukulmik, the Mi’kmaq way of conservation. Many believe it is to care about the product and to never take more than one needs. Nicholas says they’ve fished the St. Peter's Bay for 15 years for food and ceremonial catches and know how valuable the bay is.
That’s why their plan is considered a living document and they’ll continue to adjust the moderate livelihood plan according to the data.
Nicholas says as more people learn about their treaty rights, more people want to assert those rights and discussions about every Mi’kmaq community implementing a moderate livelihood plan are in the works. Some are calling for a Mi’kma’ki fishing authority and Nicholas says most of the calls for moderate livelihood have been community led. She suggests any community hoping to develop a plan should talk to the entire community.
“Community consultation is key and everybody in your community should be included, and science is a part of that,” said Nicholas.
