HAIDA GWAII, B.C. — A First Nation in Haida Gwaii, B.C., says it has won an injunction to block a planned herring roe fishery on its territory.
The Haida Nation says a Federal Court judge found there is a risk of “irreparable harm” if the large commercial fishery was allowed to open in the community on the north coast.
The nation says the ruling acknowledged the Department of Fisheries and Oceans has a “heightened duty” to accommodate the Haida, given their constitutional rights and environmental concerns.
Nation president Peter Lantin says the win is a step toward rebuilding herring stocks, and he hopes the Department of Fisheries and Oceans will start working with the nation to develop sustainable fisheries.
A year ago, the Haida joined two other First Nations to oppose a plan to open a commercial herring fishery that had been closed on Vancouver Island since 2006.
Last March, a Federal Court judge granted an injunction stopping the opening, saying the fisheries minister went against the advice of scientists in her own department.
