The Chief of the Chippewas of Nawash says the commercial fisherman who dropped nets in Colpoy’s Bay should not be charged.
Ralph Akiwenzie tells Bayshore Broadcasting News the nets are no longer in the water and they moved quickly to deal with the issue.
In fact — he says they followed the process correctly.
Akiwenzie says he was notified right away about the issue and he contacted the fisherman, fisheries staff and the Ministry of Natural Resources.
According to the Chief — the fisherman said he didn’t know the area in Colpoy’s Bay was deemed illegal to fish.
Akiwenzie doesn’t think charges should be laid because the issue was dealt with in 24 hours and they had the full co-operation of the fisherman.
The latest fishing agreement between the First Nations, local anglers and the Ministry of Natural Resources expired in December.
But Akiwenzie tells Bayshore Broadcasting News they will continue with the same rules of the agreement until a new one can be signed.
He says the hold up is the fact there is a new Minister of Natural Resources and they have yet to finalize a meeting date.
