First Nations in British Colombia are urging the Department of Fisheries and Oceans to challenge a Campbell River court’s decision to grant discharges to forty non-Native fishermen who worked for an illegal fishery last summer. The men organized the fishery in protest of department policy to limit the season’s salmon catch despite the fish’s relatively large population. In his decision, Judge Brian Saunderson accused the department of discriminating against non-Native fishermen. Native leaders criticize Judge Saunderson for applying personal opinion in the case rather than objectively interpreting the law.
