Aboriginal fish fight goes to court

A lawsuit with the potential to run up huge legal bills started on Monday in Vancouver: almost a dozen aboriginal groups from Vancouver Island are suing the B.C. and federal governments for the right to sell unlimited amounts of fish.

• NUU-CHAH-NULTH TRIBAL COUNCIL: Fisheries Strategic Plan

"Our objective is to gain recognition of our right to have access to the commercial industry, " said Francis Frank, the president of the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council,

Aboriginal people already have the right to fish out of season for food and ceremonial purposes. But Frank says high unemployment in aboriginal communities and expected population growth make a commercial fishery a necessity.

Frank added, that the Nuu-chah-nulth have "witnessed and experienced our access to the fishery resource limited by the various fishing regimes. And, over time, it has reduced our fishing fleets next to nil."

The federal and provincial governments are expected to argue that aboriginal fishing rights do not include the unlimited sales the Nuu-chah-nulth want.

• INDEPTH: Aboriginal Canadians

Over the next month, the judge will hear testimony from elders. Then court will adjourn for a year while both sides finish preparing their arguments.

Frank said he expects the Supreme Court of Canada will ultimately rule on the issue, but that will likely take years and hundreds of thousands of dollars.

• INTERVIEW: B.C. Almanac's Mark Forsythe speaks with Michelle Corfield, the vice president of the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council and with Phil Eidsvik of the B.C. Fisheries Survival Coalition.