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Esgenoopetitj (Burnt Church), New Brunswick: Reflections on Raid by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO)

At 5:00am Friday, June 23, three DFO boats entered the fishing grounds directly off the coast of the esgeno'petitj First Nation (EFN) reserve. The community responded quickly and elected to remain on the shore instead of sending out dories to meet the DFO, as they had in the past. This was the tenth day in the last twelve that DFO has been in these waters. The officers quickly swept the area, picking up ten traps marked with the EFN tags. (The esgeno'petitij nation has its own fish management plan in accord with the Supreme Court decision of last fall.)

On Thursday, CPTers Lena Siegers and Jane Wright visited the white fishing community of Baie Ste. Anne, ten miles across the bay. This was the place from which white fishers departed to cut loose $200,000 of EFN fishing equipment last fall. While there, the two women learned that DFO has a very low key presence in the area in spite of the large number of boats and traps that are put out. They also heard of the flourishing poaching trade that is centred nearby.

In light of this, some reflections and questions surface. 1) With 240,000 traps licensed in this DFO zone, why the overwhelming emphasis on the 40 - 60 traps with EFN tags? 2) If, as the DFO states, theirs is a concern for environmental issues, why doesn't the even stricter EFN management plan meet DFO criteria and why does this small band of First Nation people draw massive DFO attention while a large white poaching operation across the bay proceeds unhindered? 3) Does efficiency or use of federal money enter into the equation? Nearly daily the DFO cruises the EFN area, on the waters, the air or the land. When traps are confiscated, the operations average under one trap per officer for the day's work.

It feels as though there are deeper issues powering this DFO operation. One might assume that simple racism is a factor. In light of resource struggles nationwide, it would appear that this tiny fishing struggle in esgeno'petitj is serving as the lightning rod for all of Canada. Is there a fear that if DFO doesn't control this First Nation, all the resources across Canada will revert to aboriginal peoples? How can First Nation peoples take the justice and reconciliation initiative in this lopsided struggle?