As the Wednesday morning sun rises over the Restigouche River, the wharf at Listuguj First Nation is lined with fishing boats heading out one-by-one into choppy waters.
Deven Condo-Mitchell grabs his walkie talkie, puts on a life jacket and climbs aboard a patrol boat. He’s part of a team of rangers, ensuring the Mi’kmaw community’s fishing law and conservation plan are respected.
“I love to work outdoors, I love the water, I love the mountains,” he said. “We’re people of the land, we live off the water, we live off the country, we hunt, we fish and we’ve been doing this for centuries.”
The Listuguj Rangers speed across the river dividing Quebec and New Brunswick, watching fishermen as they work to pull their traps out of the water before the 8 a.m. deadline. The catch is better than average today, with many large salmon entangled in the nets.
Condo-Mitchell said there are telltale signs of a good fishing day, which have been passed down from generation to generation.
“You can almost smell the fish out of the water. When the birds are coming around, floating on top of the water, you know the fish are around,” he said.
“Salmon’s the way of life around here. It’s our food, it’s a necessity, people feed their families.”
The Listuguj Rangers emerged out of the community’s long-fight to protect its ancestral fishing rights. The program is now expanding and is being looked to as a model of Indigenous-led fisheries management.
Their start is tied to a violent conflict that remains vivid for many in the community today.
On June 11, 1981, 500 Quebec provincial police officers stormed Listuguj to try and bring the salmon fishery to a stop. Equipment was destroyed and fishermen were arrested and injured. Nine days later, police officers returned, but this time they were blocked from entering the community and left.
In the early 1990s, Listuguj developed its own fishing law and management plan. The Listuguj Mi’gmaq First Nation Law on Fisheries and Fishing also established the Listuguj Rangers.
Don Leo Arsenault, the program’s chief ranger, said the impact of the salmon raids continues to be felt by fishermen.
“The stigma will never leave,” he said.
In 2021, 40 years after the raids, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans reached an agreement with Listuguj officially recognizing the role of the rangers and upholding the treaty right for moderate livelihood fisheries.