Salmon fishing in Gaspésie | Nets to put pressure on Quebec

After relaunching a controversial salmon fishing technique to denounce the absence of a new agreement with Quebec, the Mi’kmaq community of Gesgapegiag, in Gaspésie, secured a new agreement accompanied by financial compensation. The pressure was strong to resolve the impasse at a time when there was a significant drop in salmon numbers in the province’s rivers.

Since May 31, members of the Mi’kmaq community of Gesgapegiag have resumed using nets to catch salmon on the Cascapedia River, in Gaspésie. A fishing technique which had been denounced by the Society for Nature and Parks (SNAP Quebec) and the Quebec Federation for Atlantic Salmon (FQSA).

Remember that since 2008, an agreement between Quebec and the Mi’kmaq community has prohibited the use of gillnets to catch salmon on the Cascapédia River and the Petite Rivière Cascapédia. In exchange, the community received $1 million per year to give up this traditional fishing practice.

The agreement stipulated in particular that “the parties recognize the importance of sound management of wildlife resources, particularly salmon, and that they jointly wish to take the necessary steps to this end.”

After a dozen days where indigenous fishermen deployed several nets on the Cascapedia River, the Mi’kmaq community announced on Thursday that it had agreed to a new agreement with Quebec for a period of one year. Fishermen had 24 hours to remove their nets. The agreement would provide for the payment of a sum of $1.5 million for the community.

The old agreement ended on May 31 and the two parties were not previously able to agree on the terms of a new agreement. In a communication published on May 31 on social networks, the leader of the Mi’kmaq community, Rod Larocque, indicated that indigenous negotiators had rejected a proposal from Quebec, which no longer wishes to directly pay financial compensation to the community. According to Mr. Larocque, the Quebec government now wants “an agreement that will provide money for job creation in the salmon protection, conservation and education zone.”

“In the absence of an agreement, gillnet fishing is not subject to any restrictions,” concluded Chief Rod Larocque in his missive.

Several nets had been installed at the mouth of the Cascapedia River, near New Richmond, in Gaspésie. A single net can capture several salmon. However, the Ministry of the Environment, the Fight against Climate Change, Wildlife and Parks (MELCCFP) is forcing sport fishermen to return their catch to the water in 2024. This is the first time that a This strict measure is deployed for salmon throughout Quebec.

“Net fishing is undoubtedly a significant threat to the maintenance of Atlantic salmon populations,” estimates Alain Branchaud, general director of SNAP Quebec. “We had a historic low in the returns of small salmon in 2023, which makes it possible to predict that salmon will be practically absent this year [in the rivers],” adds Myriam Bergeron, biologist and general director of the FQSA.

“Net fishing is really to be avoided this year. The context is really particular for the vulnerability of salmon,” says Ms. Bergeron, who gave an interview to La Presse before the announcement of a new agreement. According to her, “we must not demonize” indigenous practices.

In a communication published on the website of the Gesgapegiag Mi’kmaq community on May 22, Chief Rod Larocque explained that the council had received several complaints about the way in which the funds paid by Quebec were distributed. A survey of community members had established that 94% of them wanted the terms of the agreement to be renegotiated.

According to the DG of the FQSA, the situation has created a lot of turmoil in Gaspésie. “On the ground, it remains very difficult, there are a lot of tensions between members of indigenous and non-indigenous communities. There are even tensions in each community,” said Myriam Bergeron on Wednesday.

In a long comment posted on his Facebook page on June 10, Joshua Bradstreet, from the Mi’kmaq community, recalls that “these fish are precious for this river [Cascapédia].” “So many people in our community and surrounding communities work on this river, so let’s do the right thing and pull the nets out of the water. I implore our chief and council to take a stand and pull the nets out of the water. If you can’t do it for us, let’s do it for the salmon,” he adds.

Chef Rod Larocque did not respond to La Presse’s request for an interview.