Promoting Reconciliation and Indigenous Self-Determination through Ecosystem-Based Management

Abstract

Sipekne’katik First Nation launched their Mi’kmaw-regulated, rights-based lobster fishery in the fall of 2020. The launch came 21 years after the Supreme Court reaffirmed the Treaty-protected right to fish for a moderate livelihood and was met with harassment, violence, and racism, setting off a nationwide awakening to the issue of Treaty fisheries implementation and reconciliation on the water. At the same time, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) in the Maritimes Region has been developing an Ecosystem-Based Management (EBM) Framework encompassing Governance, Social/Cultural, Economic, and Ecological objectives to support integrated fisheries management. The extent to which this initiative could support reconciliation is currently unknown. To address this gap, this project studies how the DFO’s emerging Ecosystem-Based Management (EBM) Framework could support reconciliation. The study reviews and compares the DFO Maritimes EBM Framework, DFO-Coast Guard Reconciliation Strategy, and an Indigenous-led Reconciliation Framework linked to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) to identify opportunities for the EBM Framework to support reconciliation. Findings identified areas where the EBM Framework could be the vehicle for reconciliation and other areas requiring further development of its pillars and objectives. In cases where these responsibilities extend beyond the mandate of DFO, Canada must address those injustices through other channels. Promoting Reconciliation and Indigenous Self-Governed Fisheries through Ecosystem-Based Management could help promote healing and justice for Indigenous Peoples, ensuring they have a meaningful role in ocean management decision-making and creating a more equitable and sustainable future for all.