The applicant First Nation sought an interlocutory injunction to prevent the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans from opening a commercial spawn-on-kelp herring fishery in Area 10 pending a judicial review.
The applicant argued that the herring stocks were in decline and that opening the fishery would violate their traditional laws, disrupt reconciliation, and harm the resource.
The Federal Court dismissed the motion, finding that while there was a serious issue to be tried, the applicant failed to present clear, non-speculative evidence of irreparable harm to the herring stocks or to reconciliation.
The Court further held that the balance of convenience favoured the Minister's statutory duty to manage the fisheries in the public interest.
