![](https://d2ksr9467jthww.cloudfront.net/2024073008070/66a89e03023d1607a37afda1jpeg.jpg)
B.C. First Nations claim fish farm licences infringe upon Aboriginal fishing rights
VANCOUVER — Two B.C. First Nations are taking the federal government and fish farm companies to court trying to overturn a decision that allows the farms to continue to operate off B.C.’s coast for another five years.
The ‘Namgis and the Kwikwasut’inuxw Haxwa’mis First Nations say in separate Federal Court applications the decision infringes on their Aboriginal rights.
The fisheries department had been phasing out the fish farms, but last month Canada’s fisheries minister extended licences for another five years for Grieg Seafood and Mowi Canada to continue to run 14 farms.
In the ‘Namgis’ application, the First Nation claims fish stocks of pink, coho, Chinook and sockeye salmon have become “severely depleted,” prompting the Nation to stop fishing for those stocks in Nimpkish River, build a hatchery and start a pilot project for a land-based fish farm facility.