<
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/may/03/canada-first-nation-that-unilaterally-declared-a-marine-protected-area>
"For years, the people of the Kitasoo/Xai’xais First Nation watched over their
waters and waited. They had spent nearly two decades working with Canada’s
federal government to negotiate protections for Kitasu Bay, an area off the
coast of British Columbia that was vulnerable to overfishing.
But the discussions never seemed to go anywhere. First, they broke down over
pushback from the fishing industry, then over a planned oil tanker route
directly through Kitasoo/Xai’xais waters.
“We were getting really frustrated with the federal government. They kept
jumping onboard and then pulling out,” says Douglas Neasloss, the chief
councillor and resource stewardship director of the Kitasoo/Xai’xais First
Nation. “Meanwhile, we’d been involved in marine planning for 20 years – and we
still had no protected areas.”
Instead, the nation watched as commercial overfishing decimated the fish
populations its people had relied on for thousands of years.
Nestled on the west coast of Swindle Island, approximately 500km north of
Vancouver, Kitasu Bay is home to a rich array of marine life: urchins and
abalone populate the intertidal pools, salmon swim in the streams and halibut
take shelter in the deep waters. In March, herring return to spawn in the
eelgrass meadows and kelp forests, nourishing humpback whales, eagles, wolves
and bears.
“Kitasu Bay is the most important area for the community – that’s where we get
all of our food,” Neasloss says. “It’s one of the last areas where you still
get a decent spawn of herring.”
So in December 2021, when the Department of Fisheries and Oceans withdrew from
discussions once again, the nation decided to act. “My community basically
said, ‘We’re tired of waiting. Let’s take it upon ourselves to do something
about it,’” Neasloss says.
What they did was unilaterally declare the creation of a new marine protected
area (MPA). In June 2022, the nation set aside 33.5 sq km near Laredo Sound as
the new Gitdisdzu Lugyeks (Kitasu Bay) MPA – closing the waters of the bay to
commercial and sport fishing.
It is a largely unprecedented move. While other marine protected areas in
Canada fall under the protection of the federal government through the Oceans
Act, Kitasu Bay is the first to be declared under Indigenous law, under the
jurisdiction and authority of the Kitasoo/Xai’xais First Nation."
Via
Future Crunch:
<
https://futurecrunch.com/good-news-poverty-indonesia-press-freedom-fiji-shade-america/>
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
