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Amherst, NS, Saturday May 17, 2003 - First Nations Fishers and Chiefs affected by the snow crab boycott want a meeting with Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Robert Thibault and New Brunswick Premier Bernard Lord to discuss resolving the dispute over the snow crab fishery in Northern New Brunswick.

"The ones with the most authority to end the boycott is the provincial and federal governments, said Big Cove Chief Robert Levi. "This dispute needs to be resolved so that many people affected won’t miss out on the economic and social benefits."

"We don’t want to give up the fishery before it’s too late, our communities will suffer from the loss of the season and our fishers will lose money because they already bought the bait and other supplies", said Chief Barlow.

The First Nations fishers want to meet with the Minister and the Premier in the next few days so a quick resolution to the boycott can be done so that all the fishers can enjoy the benefits of the fishery.

The Atlantic Policy Congress of First Nation Chiefs is a policy research and advocacy secretariat that analyzes and develops culturally relevant alternatives to Federal policies that impact on the Mi'kmaq, Maliseet and Passamaquoddy First Nation communities and peoples.