Boats from the commercial herring fishery began appearing along the BC coast prompting Tla’amin Nation to serve notice on the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO).

Tla’amin council told DFO in early March that the fishery would cause “irreversible damage” to the herring stock. “If the decision… is to proceed with the commercial herring fishery, Tla’amin Nation will take steps to restrain the mismanagement of the fishery,” the band council resolution said.

Chief Clint Williams told the Vancouver Sun that a DFO notice of the fishery in Tla’amin traditional territory “set some alarm bells ringing for us. It’s been 30 years and we are only now starting to see some patchy spawn here, but nothing like it was traditionally.

We are going to do whatever we can to stop this and allow the healing that needs to take place.”

Last year, other First Nations including Haida and Heiltsuk stopped the commercial fishery. Haida won a court injunction to halt a roe fishery and Heiltsuk members took over a DFO office until the fishery was cancelled in their territory.