NunatuKavut Community Council once again participates in annual international salmon organization meeting
HAPPY VALLEY-GOOSE BAY, LABRADOR, June 9, 2023 – The NunatuKavut Community Council (NCC) participated in the North American Salmon Conservation Organization (NASCO) annual meeting this week in Moncton, NB. NASCO is an international organization that aims to conserve and restore wild Atlantic salmon and NCC has been involved with this organization for a number of years.
George Russell Jr., Director of NCC’s Environment and Natural Resources department, was part of a panel discussion at NASCO’s Special Session on Indigenous Perspectives and Roles in Atlantic Salmon Conservation. Mr. Russell talked about ways to enhance our participation in NASCO through more meaningful and elevated roles in management and decision-making. He also spoke about the critical importance of incorporating Indigenous traditional knowledge into the work NASCO is undertaking.
NunatuKavut Inuit have a wholistic relationship with salmon. It is an important source of food, health and tradition. In collaboration with its people, NCC is now working on strengthening its communal fishery management plan with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. NCC’s management plan will utilize Inuit traditional knowledge and science and align with the development of its own Inuit Food, Social and Ceremonial Law. Traditional knowledge is fundamental to protecting salmon for future generations. It is also a necessary step toward the self-determination of NunatuKavut Inuit.
Quote
“Our presence in the fishery is, and always has been, vitally important to the livelihood of our people and communities. Our communal fishery keeps us connected to the ice and waters of NunatuKavut. NCC is now working to reclaim our legal traditions around food, social and ceremonial harvesting with the development of our Inuit Law. We want to sustain our traditional food sharing practices in our communities and ensure that our Inuit traditional knowledge guides conservation into the future. As long as we eat salmon, there will always be salmon.”
— Todd Russell, President of NCC
Quick Facts
- NCC is the representative governing body for NunatuKavut Inuit who reside primarily in south and central Labrador.
- NunatuKavut means “Our Ancient Land” in Inuttitut and is the traditional territory of the Inuit who belong to this territory.
- In July 2018, NCC entered into talks with the Government of Canada on the Recognition of its Indigenous Rights and Self-Determination (RIRSD). In September 2019, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed.
- NASCO is an international organization, established by convention in 1984. Its objective is to conserve, restore, enhance and rationally manage Atlantic salmon though international co-operation, taking account of best available scientific information.
Associated Links
- For further information, please visit www.nunatukavut.ca. Please also join in the conversation at Facebook.com/nunatukavut and Twitter @nunatukavut.
- To learn more about NASCO, please visit https://nasco.int/
Media Contact
Kelly Broomfield
Chief of Communications
T. 709-280-5965
E. communications@nunatukavut.ca