A long-running dispute over lobster fishing rights on the disputed border between the Canadian province of New Brunswick and the U.S. state of Maine is heating up.
After being “harassed, threatened, and attacked” with shotguns, knives, and bear spray, Canadian fisheries enforcement officers appear to be pulling back on enforcement efforts, with as many as many as 35 percent of agents assigned to marine patrols in the area refusing to report for duty, according to Union of Health and Environment Workers President Shimen Fayad. Fayad’s union represents fishery enforcement officers across Canada, including around 100 conservation and protection supervisors and fishery officers in Nova Scotia and southwestern New Brunswick.
“There is a history of problems in the Maritimes region, as well as other regions, dating back many years that have led to the latest work refusal by some fisheries officers,” Fayad wrote in an email to Canada’s Brunswick News. “There have been numerous threats and physical assaults on fishery officers and at times towards fishery officers’ families for many, many years.”
Fayad said 35 members of his union have filed Canada Labour Code refusal-to-work letters, without specifying where they work. Regarding those posted in the area of disputed territory between the U.S. and Canada, he said threats of violence have become so bad dozens of his union’s members are refusing to conduct patrols.
“They are exposed to situations where individuals carry weapons like shotguns, hammers, knives, axes, machetes, bear spray and automatic weapons. They have not been provided additional protection from the employer as these attacks have continued,” Fayad said. “Right now, some fishery officers are refusing to work in what is clearly an unsafe and unhealthy work environment and the employer is putting pressure on them to return to their posts.”
Fayad called on the Canadian government to “immediately provide proper equipment, training, and support to fishery officers in order for them to carry out their responsibilities.”
In a press release, Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) said the ongoing refusal to work has not compromised fisheries enforcement activity in the Maritimes region.
"Fishery officers throughout the region continue to patrol by sea, land, and air. They continue to conduct investigations and to work with other policing agencies, the provinces, and the Public Prosecution Service of Canada to enforce the law,” it said. “Fishery officers have been taking enforcement measures ranging from compliance awareness to making arrests and seizing unauthorized catch, equipment, and vessels.”
The agency acknowledged U.S. fishermen have been placing lobster traps on the Canadian side of the border since the beginning of August 2024 and that it has opened an investigation into potential offenses under Canada’s Coastal Fisheries Protection Act.
DFO is also dealing with mounting tensions between lobster fishers in southwest Nova Scotia, as an unregulated Indigenous fishery launched in 2020 has grown in size, reducing catches in the commercial fishery.
“Fishery officers have seized vessels, traps, and have returned lobsters to the ocean. In addition, fishery officers have ...
