There has been a breakthrough in the Lobster Fisheries conflict between the Indigenous and Non-Indigenous Fishers in Nova Scotia, Canada. A conglomerate of Mi’kmaq Nations have purchased the largest seafood corporation in Atlantic Canada for a 50% stake in the company. The Mi’kmaq Nation had a partner in the deal, a company based in British Columbia called Premium Foods. The company owns a number of popular seafood brands in Canada and Internationally.

The deal marks the largest investment by Indigenous communities in the seafood industry. It also marks a huge win for Indigenous people who have been locked in a violent battle with non-Indigenous fishers over the past few months.

A group of Non-Indigenous fishers has been harassing Indigenous fishers who started fishing lobster legally and are not bound by seasonal closures as are their Non-Indigenous counterparts. Protests have turned from shouting matches to setting cars on fire as well as lobster storage houses in violent protests along the southern shores of Nova Scotia.

The Indigenous fishers have the right to fish year-round as it states in a government-indigenous treaty signed all the way back in the 1700s. The agreement was upheld by the Supreme Court in 1999.

The purchase of Clearwater is a separate matter than the local lobster fishery, but it will have a positive generational impact for the Mi’kmaq Nation.

Links To Articles: 1) https://atlantic.ctvnews.ca/first-nations-chief-calls-1-billion-clearwater-deal-a-generational-acquisition-1.5181778

2) https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/seafood-giant-clearwater-convicted-gross-violation-lobster-fishery-1.4971558

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