A group that represents commercial lobster harvesters has sued both the Sipekne'katik First Nation and the Canadian attorney general in an effort to stop what it alleges is illegal fishing in Nova Scotia's St. Marys Bay. 

The United Fisheries Conservation Alliance (UFCA) filed its notice of action on Friday (Aug. 23) in the Nova Scotia Supreme Court, also naming Sipekne'katik fishers and chief Michelle Glasgow as defendants, reports Saltwire, an Atlantic Canada news service.

The UFCA is asking the court to declare the First Nation's self-regulated lobster fishery in St Marys Bay illegal and demand regulation under the federal Fisheries Act.

It argues that the unregulated fishery, which the Sipekne'katik launched in 2020, has significantly depleted lobster stocks in the bay, forcing commercial fishermen out of the area and leading to the closure of a local processing plant.

The legal dispute centers on the definition of a "moderate livelihood," a concept introduced by the Supreme Court of Canada in the 1999 Marshall decisions. These decisions affirmed Mi'kmaq treaty rights to fish and hunt for sustenance — a right that the Sipekne'katik First Nation, as part of the Mi'kmaq, seeks to exercise.

While the federal government and Sipekne'katik had agreed to enter mediation on this issue, the UFCA opposes the move, accusing both parties of abandoning a transparent court process in favor of secret negotiations.

According to the report, tensions in St Marys Bay are escalating as First Nations fishers continue to pursue their fishery outside the commercial season, which begins in late November. Federal fisheries officers have recently refused to enforce regulations, citing threats to their safety and a lack of support from their superiors, the report continued.

Federal officials, including fisheries minister Diane Lebouthillier and prime minister Justin Trudeau, are in Halifax, Nova Scotia, for a cabinet retreat, drawing further attention to the ongoing conflict, the news service noted.