For traditional Mi'kmaw adult eel fishers, it's not about the money

Mi'kmaw fishermen thrust a rake-like spear deep into a hole cut in the ice on a river in Antigonish, N.S., during a cold February afternoon, hoping to catch an adult eel andhonourthe legacy of their ancestors in the process.

"The main thing is to feed our people the elderly, the sick," said Terry Denny. "It's important you're doing something that you are not getting a cash reward."

Eel, or katew, isatraditional food source for the Mi'kmaq. Ceremonially significant, they'reoften eaten in a broth as a baby's first meal upon arriving from the spirit worldand as an elder's final meal before their trip home to the spirit world.

But some of the fishermen who are keeping the traditional fishery alive are noticing a decline in eel numbersa sign of powerful forces threatening it.

Nova Scotia is home to the American eel, whichthe International Union for the Conservation of Nature has classified as an endangered species because of threats such aspollution, climate change and overfishing.

The recent surge in both commercial and unauthorized fishing for elver, or baby eels, has placed further strain on the species.

The fishing of baby eels can be a hottopic, clouded by judgments, differences in opinions, and undefined treaty rights. This has led to a range ofopinionsamong Mi'kmaq and brought discussions aboutmoderate livelihood harvestingrights to the forefront.

Kerry Prosper is an elder and knowledge keeper from Paqtnkek Mi'kmaw Nation who feels a connection to his ancestors when he is fishing adult eels, which he has done for most of his life.

Prosperdoes it to sharehis catch withhis community, although he said he isn't harvesting this yeardue to the low numbers.

"If the large eels are fished out now into depletion, I can see the elvers falling very fast. But now we have the elverfishing going at the same time, and how are the big eels going to repopulate if they're taking the baby ones?" he said.

The life cycle and movement of eels are surrounded by mystery, and the modern harvesting of eels, surrounded by contention.

TheAmerican eel has a complexlife cycle thatbegins in the Sargasso Sea in the North Atlantic, where adult eels lay eggs that hatch into leaf-like creatures that are transported north and west to North America by way of the Gulf Stream.

By the time they approach the coastlines, they've undergonetwo transformations: from their transparent leaf-like form into tiny transparent glass eels,and then into pigmented elvers that enter freshwater estuaries to grow into adults.

High demand for eel in Asia, and the collapse of eel fishing in Europe, due to European eels being declared critically endangered,has pushed the market value of elversas high as$5,000 a kilogram.

Thatled to a surge of harvestingand prompted the Department of Fisheries and Oceans to cancel the fishery, which normally starts in late March, for the second year in a row.

Out on the ice

Winter harvesting of katew todaywith its whipping winds, long arduous hours and a good chance you may go home empty-handed is a selfless act, done to provide for the community.

It's a sacrifice that traditional eel fishers from Eskasoni like Aaron Prosper, Floyd Prosper, Bob Denny Jr., Terry Denny and his sons made on a recent February afternoon.

Terry Denny is a knowledge keeper, storyteller and practitioner of traditional harvesting methods passed down to him from his father,who told him that eeling is done for the community. Theybattle the wind and cold for thosewho cannot do it themselves.

Eel holds an important placewithin Mi'kmaw ceremonial settings, and holds broader meanings in the Mi'kmawconcepts of reciprocity, shown in the way eel has historically been shared within the community.

"[When I come out eel fishing] I feel part of my father, my grandfather and their fathers before them" said Terry Denny.

"As long as people do this in a good way, we will have it for a long time. Money and the economy this cannot supply this. We are here to take what we need and [as much as] people ask for."

Denny also stressedthe importance of food offerings to the spirit world. He said his great-grandfather was always sure to offer an eel to the fire in prayer, even when he didn't have enough to feed his family.

The sacrifice of one eel to the spirit world signifies the lack of greed in these cultural traditions.

"We cannot take all, we must give back. The spirit world takes care of us when we give back," said Denny. "When we do not walk with the spirit world then greed, hate, all those bad things come with that."

Aaron Prosper is a Mi'kmaw artist and health consultant who is deeply involved withefforts to preserve and revitalize Mi'kmaw culture, language and traditions in Nova Scotia. His family used to clean and package the eels they caughtand givethem out to different families, eldersand people in need, he said.

He's noticed a change in the number of eels they catch over the past 15 years. It used to be that they could bring homeabout 50 in a day,meaning they only needed one trip to provide enough eels for the community.Today the outings yield much smaller numbers.

"There's been a couple of guys that have come out, make about 20 holes, and they don't catch any," he said. "That's concerning."

As these men leave thesnowy, glistening landscape, a sense of anticipation and satisfaction fills their conversationsas they mention who they are going to share their catchwith.

They carry on the legacy of their ancestors and continuethese time-honoured traditionsfor at least another day.

'The worst thing you could do to the fishery'

The voices of elderslike Kerry Prosper areunderrepresented in thediscussions around the elver fishery. He believesthefuture of Mi'kmawfood security is in jeopardy.

"People are accumulating intergenerational wealth through this elver fishing, millions of dollars and at the same time really putting our intergenerational food security in jeopardy," he said. "I think the introduction of elver fishing was the worst thing you could do to the fishery.

"It's like taking the lobster and selling the eggs too...I don't understand."