First Nation’s Declaration Challenges Plan to Ban Salmon Farming in British Columbia

Amid an activist-driven federal plan to end ocean salmon farming on Canada’s West Coast, the Tlowitsis First Nation declares outside actors are undermining economic partnerships essential for rebuilding their community.

By Fabian Dawson
SeaWestNews

The Tlowitsis Nation has issued a formal declaration asserting jurisdiction over its traditional territory, warning that outside interference in salmon aquaculture and other resource partnerships threatens construction of its new community at Nenagwas.

Released this week by Chief John Smith, the declaration states that the Tlowitsis Nation is the rightful title holder of its lands and has the authority to govern and manage all resources within its Territory, including trees, water, minerals and other natural resources.

The declaration states that interference by non-rights holders is undermining the Nation’s ability to pursue sustainable economic development under Indigenous legal orders affirmed by Canadian constitutional and international law.

“This unlawful interference does not only harm our ability to build sustainable economic development; it threatens our collective future,” the declaration states.

The Tlowitsis First Nation’s traditional territories span the coastal area of Northern Vancouver Island, Johnstone Strait and adjacent mainland inlets. It is a member of the Coalition of First Nations for Finfish Stewardship (FNFFS), a group of Indigenous rightsholders whose territories host salmon farms and who have warned that federal plans to phase out ocean salmon farming by 2029 could derail Indigenous-led economies across the coast.

For the Tlowitsis, who have partnered in salmon aquaculture for more than a decade, those concerns are directly tied to Nenagwas, the new community currently under construction near Campbell River.

The declaration describes Nenagwas as a critical milestone that restores a sense of home, connection, and stability after decades of displacement caused by past federal policies that forced the Nation off Turnour Island and left its members without reserve lands for years.

Relying primarily on industry partnerships, including forestry and salmon aquaculture, the Nation says it generated the revenue needed to purchase land and begin rebuilding its community from the ground up.

According to the declaration, that progress is now being disrupted by outside interference that is directly impacting the revenue streams used to fund construction and employment.

“This disruption not only threatens the viability of our community construction, but also the employment and livelihood of our People,” it states.

The declaration further warns that individuals and groups with no legal authority in Tlowitsis Territory are being given public platforms to interfere in its affairs.

“Non-rights holders have been given platforms to publicly interfere in our affairs,” the declaration states, adding that media outlets and governments are engaging with those individuals while disregarding Indigenous governance laws and protocols.

The Nation emphasizes that such actions undermine its responsibility to manage its lands and resources in a way that benefits its people.

“We have the right and responsibility to decide how our lands and resources are managed, and how the resulting benefits contribute to the well-being of our People,” the declaration states.

In closing, the declaration calls on outside Nations and activist groups to immediately cease interference and respect Tlowitsis decision-making authority.

“We are the rightful stewards of our Territory,” it states. “Our decisions reflect the will and welfare of our People.”

The declaration comes as the Carney government continues to stand by a Trudeau-era, activist-driven plan to phase out open-net salmon farming on the B.C. coast by 2029, despite a large body of peer-reviewed scientific evidence showing marine salmon farming has less than a minimal impact on wild salmon stocks.

Salmon farming in British Columbia generates about $1.17 billion a year in economic activity and supports roughly 4,560 full-time jobs. Every operating salmon farm is governed by a formal partnership with a First Nation.

B.C.’s salmon farmers and their First Nations partners say a stable, evidence-based federal and provincial policy framework would allow the sector to expand, generating up to $2.5 billion annually in economic activity, $930 million in GDP, and 9,000 Canadian jobs.

( Main image shows Chief John Smith of the Tlowitsis Nation speaking at the site of the new Nenagwas Community)