Members of the Heiltsuk Nation occupied a Department of Fisheries and Oceans office and issued an eviction notice in the latest escalation of a dispute over a contentious fishery.
“You come into our waters and steal from us, unilaterally,” youth leader Saul Brown told DFO officers outside their station on Denny Island.
“You’re not here in a good way anymore. You’re not conducting yourself in a way that is sustainable for future generations.”
Brown was one of many members of the Heiltsuk who traveled by sea from Bella Bella to the island to deliver their eviction notice.
WATCH: First Nations and environmentalists are vowing to fight a commercial herring roe fishery on the Central Coast, claiming stocks are on the verge of collapse. Elaine Yong reports.
Earlier this week, the Heiltsuk said they would protect herring in their territory by any means necessary, after negotiations with the government over a commercial herring gillnet fishery failed to result in an agreement.
The Department of Fisheries and Oceans opened the herring-roe seine fishery near Bella Bella on Sunday, saying there is enough stock to support the harvest.
The Heiltsuk Nation is the latest aboriginal band on B.C.’s coast to speak out in a long-standing dispute over the sustainability of the herring fishery.
READ MORE: Haida Nation win injunction against commercial fishery on Haida Gwaii
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