NATIVE COUNCIL OF NOVA SCOTIA

the Self-Governing Authority for the large community of Mi'kmaq Aboriginal peoples residing off-reserve in Nova Scotia throughout traditional Mi'kmaq territory

1999 INTERIM GUIDELINES
"SUSTENANCE AUGMENTATION MANAGEMENT REGIME"
(SAMR)

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N.C.N.S. NETUKULIMKEWE'L COMMISSION

the Natural Life Management authority for the large community of Mi'kmaq/Aboriginal peoples residing off-reserve in Nova Scotia throughout traditional Mi'kmaq territory

Truro, Nova Scotia
October 8, 1999

1999 INTERIM GUIDELINES
"SUSTENANCE AUGMENTATION MANAGEMENT REGIME"
(SAMR)

The Native Council of Nova Scotia and the Netukulimkewe'l Commission are pleased to announce our interim guidelines in the development of a "Sustenance Augmentation Management Regime" (SAMR). The SAMR is an evolving regime to assist the members of our Mi'kmaq community who reside on traditional territory in Nova Scotia undisplaced to Indian Act Reservations and who are the documented beneficiaries of the treaties by lineage, affiliation and community acceptance.

SAMR has been developed to ensure that the fundamental right of members of the Mi'kmaq nation to achieve a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of him/herself and his or her family and to attain a moderate livelihood. SAMR will also provide information, assessment and assistance to the Mi'kmaq applicant in the conduct of their harvest activities. This regime will be open only to those persons who are documented Mi'kmaq ATRA passport holders.

The development and evolution of the SAMR is anchored to four principles:

1. Conservation of the biomass. This has been held as a fundamental principle by the Mi'kmaq Nation for over 11,000 years and will continue to be a vital principle of this regime. The Creator has placed this natural life for all of us as humankind to enjoy for our well-being without jeopardizing the integrity, diversity or productivity of the living environment now and for our future generations. The species size and catch limitations contained in the existing guidelines of the Netukulimkewe'l Commission will be respected in the SAMR harvest. In the case of lobster, this will involve the observation of minimum carapace sizes, avoiding soft shell lobster, returning egg berried females to the water, etc.;
   
   
2. The SAMR will provide for the interim entry of off-Indian Act Reservation Mi'kmaq people which can be initially accommodated in a manner that mitigates against displacement of existing lobster fishers. It is well-known that the commercial lobster fishery utilizes unlicensed and excess lobster trap numbers over the legal allowable trap limits within each LFA in a range of ten to forty percent. By having DFO and the commercial lobster fishing community limit the number of traps by the commercial lobster industry to those permitted under the existing DFO lobster management plans, there would be more than sufficient "space" for the operation of our SAMR;
   
   
3. The Mi'kmaq ATRA holder and his or her family are to be the direct beneficiaries of their resource harvest. This is a non-transferrable right that remains with the community and is to be safeguarded against the conduct of persons, whether native or non-native, that would have as its goal the accrual of wealth for a few or for those not entitled to the treaty rights or who would jeopardize conservation.
   
   
4. Annual statistics, reports and data on the catch landings and use monitoring must be provided to the Netukulimkewe'l Commission and must demonstrate the socio-economic benefit directly achieved by the Mi'kmaq ATRA holder in his or her family.

CONSERVATION OF THE BIOMASS

Conservation is the first priority. The second priority harvest right is for food, social and ceremonial purposes. The SAMR will subjugate itself to the food, social and ceremonial fishery if there is empirical evidence that the biomass use of the resource through the SAMR threatens this fishery.

All SAMR harvesters will be required to maintain lobster catch effort and catch landing statistical reports and submit them to the Netukulimkewe'l Commission on a periodic basis. DFO Fisheries Enforcement and Netukulimkewe'l Commission Prefects will be directed to identify unlicensed and unauthorized excess to legal lobster trap allocations by non-native industry harvesters.

DFO Fisheries Enforcement and Netukulimkewe'l Commission Prefects will be able to easily identify Mi'kmaq ATRA Harvesters legally harvesting through the SAMR. Other persons who are illegally claiming to be fishing as an off-reserve Mi'kmaq Harvester and who can not provide identification in the form of a Mi'kmaq ATRA Passport are subject to Canadian Laws.

EFFECTS ON EXISTING COMMERCIAL INDUSTRY

The SAMR will use existing boundaries of the fourteen LFA's in the SAMR management plan. In the interim, the SAMR will be able to identify opportunities for Mi'kmaq ATRA harvesters to gain a moderate standard of living for themselves and their families by requiring that the illegal commercial lobster traps of the non-native fishery be removed from the water. There easily exists between ten to forty percent of unauthorized and illegal lobster trap fishing effort by the non-native fishery. By reducing this, and using the difference to accommodate new Mi'kmaq ATRA Harvester entrants into each LFA, there will be no displacement of existing licensed commercial lobster fishers and no new pressure on the annual lobster landings reported. Statistical catch data by trap effort would be provided to DFO Science as required which, when combined with the licensed authorized trap numbers of existing commercial harvesters, will give DFO Science a more reliable and accurate record of lobster fishing trap effectiveness data for each LFA to determine future trap numbers best suited for an LFA.

SAMR APPLICATION PROCESS

Only those Mi'kmaq ATRA Harvesters who choose to use the natural resources to work towards a moderate livelihood, who reside on traditional territories in Nova Scotia undisplaced to Indian Act Reservations, who demonstrate and substantiate the need to use the resource to work towards a moderate adequate standard of living and to agree to abide by the SAMR interim guidelines will be considered for access to the SAMR.

The SAMR process will require that the Mi'kmaq ATRA lobster fisher must harvest the lobster for a value comparable to the industry landed market value at any given time. This may be done through an individual/buyer relationship, through a proposed co-op relationship or through our Aboriginal Communal Commercial Fishery entity.

Each application will be assessed on a family by family basis and will include the harvesting options, responsibilities and obligations of the harvester.

The application process will require that the applicant demonstrate that he/she:

1. is a Mi'kmaq ATRA holder;
2. declare the number of immediate family living in the household;
3. disclose the combined sources of household income;
4. disclose the amount required to allow the family to achieve a moderate lifestyle;
5. disclose a plan which will:
   1. show where they intend to harvest;
   2. describe the arrangements of who will buy the results of their harvest and at what price;
   3. state the time frame during which the harvest will occur;
   4. describe the method of harvest;
   5. provide any other information necessary or required to ensure that the benefit from this resource is directed to the Mi'kmaq family.

Through the SAMR process, the Applicant and the Netukulimkewe'l Commission will discuss and evaluate on an ongoing basis what barriers may exist to access the resource, will monitor the performance of the responsibilities and obligations of the harvester and will determine when the benefits of the harvest of the resource have achieved the moderate livelihood for the harvester and his or her family, taking into account their lifestyle and financial situation.