The Aboriginal Fisheries Strategy:

What is the Aboriginal Fisheries Strategy?

The Aboriginal Fisheries Strategy (AFS) is a national fisheries program. It was created by the federal government in 1992 to ensure that the rulings of the Sparrow decision are carried out. The seven-year AFS program is designed to stabilize the Canadian fishery and increase economic opportunities for aboriginal people.

The Aboriginal Fisheries Strategy applies mostly to the Atlantic and Pacific coastal areas of Canada. Generally, the management of the fisheries in the inland provinces and aboriginal territories has been transferred to those

inland provincial governments and aboriginal territories.

The AFS is a particularly important program because of the recent advancements in fishing technology. In B.C., the share of available fish that can be caught by | each fishing group is: commercial fishers 94 per cent, | recreational sport fishers 3 per cent, and aboriginal

groups 3 per cent.

The federal government is spending about $140

million over seven years on the Aboriginal Fisheries

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