In 1993, the Listuguj Mi’gmaq First Nation Government reclaimed the management of the salmon fishery in the Restigouche River, where it flows between the provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec. These are Waters that the Listuguj Mi’gmaq people had fished for many generations. They did so by passing their own law, without seeking permission from provincial and federal governments. The law reflects that the lives of the salmon and the lives of the Mi’gmaq are intertwined and is also one of affirmation: to use, manage and occupy the Land and the Water in accordance with Mi’gmaq values, philosophies and ways-of-being. The law provides for co-management agreements with adjacent governments, in the interests of conservation and effective management of the resource. It also establishes means of monitoring the condition of the resource, setting harvest limits and carrying out other management activities. The creation of the Mi’gmaq fisheries law was a groundbreaking step in reclaiming governance as a Mi’gmaq right and practice.
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