First Nations inadvertently fund Survival Coalition

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Coastal First Nations that own commercial halibut licenses were shocked to learn their Pacific Halibut Management Association (PHMA) recently agreed to give hundreds of thousands of dollars to the BC Fisheries Survival Coalition, a non-registered group whose main interest seems to be opposing Aboriginal Fishing rights and title.

PHMA is a provincial society that currently represents 85 per cent of the commercial halibut license holders, and was created to advance joint project agreements in the commercial fishery.

Eleven coastal BC First Nations holding 24 halibut licenses are members of the PHMA. According to PHMA executive manager George Cormier, the First Nation members contribute $53,185 to the organization through management fees.

Through the PHMA, halibut fishers have a formal Joint Project Agreement with Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) providing commercial fishermen with a greater role in the day-to-day operations of the fishery.

The PHMA takes the value of 11 per cent of each halibut fishers catch to fund at-sea and dockside monitoring programs, DFO enforcement and research positions, and many other programs. The Joint Project Agreement (JPA) also supports enforcement activity, fundsing 80 per cent of the salary, benefits and other costs of five DFO fishery officers.

The PHMA earns more than $4.5 million a year through management fees from fishers and the leasing of their own special halibut quotas allocated to the PHMA annually by DFO. Last year, the PHMA received a special quota halibut allocation for 1,163,120 lb. from a total quota of 11,631,200 lb.

At the PHMA annual general meeting on Feb. 2, Phil Eidsvik addressed the meeting and talked about the work of the B.C. Fisheries Survival Coalition, which is fighting court cases relative to Aboriginal sales of food, social and ceremonial fish. Eidsvik asked for financial support from the PHMA in order to help defray the costs of legal fees incurred by the coalition.

PHMA members voted overwhelmingly to provide $100,000 immediately, and a minimum of $50,000 annually for the next four years to the coalition.

"PHMA's donation of proceeds from our quota fees to an organization that discriminates against our people ... [means] the Huu-ay-aht Council must seriously consider why its members should join or continue to belong to PHMA," Larry Johnson wrote in a letter to the PHMA last week. "I'm considering pulling my membership and will be suggesting the idea of forming our own First Nations group," he said.

"Most of the people are looking at this [donation] as challenging DFO policies, not fighting Natives," said Cormier. "We support First Nations getting access to fish as long as it's done the right way. I think there's been a recognition that First Nations have certain constitutionally-protected rights for food, social and ceremonial fish and we recognize that. We think that for economic opportunities, that any licenses should be brought back by the Crown. The Crown created the problem in the first place and they should solve it. It's got nothing to do with anti-Native sentiment," he said.

According to Cormier, he met with Johnson and Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council biologist Jim Lane at the February PHMA AGM in Seattle, and proposed an outreach program to attract more First Nations halibut license holders into the association.

"We had a good discussion and I thought it was a good beginning in terms of building bridges," said Cormier. "We need to better understand where First Nations are trying to go in the fisheries area. Without the dialogue you're never going to understand, and I wanted the outreach program to be one of the things undertaken this year, and now we've got this little thing that might be getting in the way, but I'm hoping not," he said. "I'm not sure there was a lot of rational thought that went into that vote."

"He's talking about building bridges with First Nations, but they've burnt that bridge before it eve got started," said Johnson. "If they're not going to reconcile, we have no choice but to set up our own management association," he said.

"It's quite shocking, and I'm certainly not in favor of it," said Les Sam, chief councillor of the Tseshaht First Nation which shares a halibut license with the Ucluelet First Nation. "Every time I've crossed paths with the Fisheries Survival Coalition it seems they're only interested in fighting First Nations, because they're not doing anything for commercial fishermen," he said. "I think it's really clear the non-Native license holders have a problem with us, so something has to be done to give us a more effective voice," he said.

Given the vote to donate $300,000 to the BC Fisheries Survival Coalition was almost unanimous, Cormier says there is little the board of directors can do.