Four Men Arrested After ‘Shots Fired’ Incident Near Pictou Landing
The Nova Scotia RCMP arrested four men after receiving a report of “shots fired” around 5:30 pm last evening near Pictou Landing. One man, 51, turned himself in not long after the incident and three more men were arrested today in Caribou. All four men live in Pictou County. No one was injured during the incident.
Pictou Landing First Nation Chief, Andrea Paul, said the incident was related to their livelihood fishery, called the Netukulimk livelihood fishery, in the Northumberland Strait. Ever since launching the fishery in November, Paul says lobster traps have been destroyed by those opposed to the fishery.
“It’s been happening for a while with our traps being cut…rendering them useless is what they’ve been doing,” she said.
“We didn’t make it public. Our fishers were getting discouraged, but they just kept going on.”
Last night, one of the Netukulimk fishermen went out in his aluminum boat to confront the men who were witnessed tampering with a trap, claims Paul. That’s when the “shots fired” incident allegedly occurred.
In a press release, the RCMP confirm these events.
“Upon arrival, members learned that a man had observed the crew of a fishing vessel removing lobster traps from the water,” says the press release. “The man then approached the fishing vessel in a small boat. As he approached, the fishing vessel accelerated toward him and shots were fired from the vessel. The man was not injured and returned to port.
The Netukulimk fisherman called Paul after the incident, who told him to call the RCMP right away. Paul said DFO and the RCMP have been aware of the vandalism to the lobster traps for a while and feels not enough has been done to curb the crime.
Today is the last day of the Netukulimk fishery. The Pictou Landing First Nation will have a review about the contentious fishery in the days ahead.
“We’ll come back and have a conversation about how the season went and what we need to do moving forward.”