Canada's fisheries minister says she wants to shut down this year's lucrative baby eel fishery with only weeks to go before the season opens in the Maritimes.
The Federal Court has rejected an attempt to overturn Ottawa's decision in 2022 to reallocate part of the lucrative elver fishery quota to First Nations.
Officials also say the department will initiate a “comprehensive review” of the elver fishery in order to ensure its long-term stable management and the conservation of the stock.
The federal government closed the fishery for baby eels in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia for 45 days on April 15 after reports of poaching and of violence among fishers.