Transfer of baby eel quota to First Nations was unfair, says federal judge

A federal judge has ruled that the Fisheries Department failed to properly consult commercial baby eel fishers when it transferred about 14 per cent of their quota to First Nations.

The March 28 ruling from Justice Paul Favel says the quota transfer for the 2023 season away from Shelburne Elver Ltd. and South Shore Trading Co. Ltd. was “procedurally unfair.”

The lucrative fishery in Maritime rivers has been the source of tension as prices in recent years have ranged between $3,000 and $5,000 per kilogram for the tiny eels — called elvers — which are shipped to Asia.

Favel says the federal Fisheries Department didn’t engage enough with the two commercial licence holders before it cut their quotas for the 2023 elver season.

Brian Giroux, a fisher with Shelburne Elver Ltd., says the co-operative with 38 employees is considering a legal action to seek damages due to the minister’s decision.

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After the 2023 quota transfer, the 2024 fishing season was cancelled because of violence on the rivers.

In 2025, the government increased the Indigenous share to 50 per cent of the 9,960-kilogram total allowable catch.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 2, 2025.