[JohnnyB]

Originally Posted by Weitz

Did the lady from Dalhousie who has been quoted around actually comment on conservation? All I saw was amount of traps in relation to commercial fisheries.

https://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.5734030

A university professor who studies fisheries management says the Mi'kmaw fishery in southwest Nova Scotia won't harm lobster stocks — as commercial fishermen have argued — given its small scale.

Megan Bailey is an associate professor and Canada Research Chair in integrated ocean and coastal governance at Dalhousie University in Halifax.

I also thought this was an interesting read to learn about the situation.

https://www.thechronicleherald.ca/op...-think-509373/

Currently, Mi’kmaw lobster livelihood fishers are limited through the Marshall decision to acquire only a moderate livelihood. To accommodate that limit, Mi’kmaw fishers/communities set trap limits that are less than the smallest commercial fishery possible (i.e., 75 traps) with even fewer Mi’kmaw lobster harvesters fishing the maximum allotment.

Imagine if each commercial lobster licence holder — there are over 3,000 inshore lobster licences in the Maritimes alone — with the equivalent of over 820,725 traps shared access by reducing their maximum trap allocation by one per cent. This would translate to a reduction of 2.5 to four traps for each lobster licence holder annually. Overall, this would provide access equivalent to 8,207-plus traps for a Mi’kmaq livelihood fishery in the Maritimes region of Nova Scotia.

Given that the livelihood fishery is negligible in comparison to the commercial lobster fishery, this may likely suffice in the interim for the Mi’kmaw First Nations in Nova Scotia engaged in livelihood lobster fishing. Whatever trap allocation is not used by either the Mi’kmaw livelihood fishers or their commercial counterparts could be considered their contribution to sustainability.

Isn’t it worth each commercial licence holder exploring giving up 2.5 to four traps annually in return for building better relations, avoiding conflict, and abiding by the multiple decisions of the courts?

If those are not good enough reasons, and the fear in the industry is that the Mi’kmaw livelihood fishers are indeed a threat to the resource, isn’t giving up 2.5 to four traps worth protecting your livelihood?