By Andrew Bates, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter An Indigenous lobster fisher from Maine is claiming treaty rights after being charged with illegally fishing in Passamaquoddy Bay. Erik D. Francis, 54, of Perry, Maine, is charged with Coastal Fisheries Protection Act offences relating to two incidents in November 2022 and September 2023 where he is accused of fishing from a foreign vessel in New Brunswick waters. In a statement, Fisheries and Oceans Canada spokesperson Lauren Sankey, fisheries officials arrested and released one person on Nov. 15, 2022, after seizing 36 lobster traps during a patrol of Passamaquoddy Bay. The same person was charged with two others on Sept. 20, 2023, after 12 traps were seized during patrol of the bay, Sankey wrote. According to court documents, Francis asserts constitutional rights to…
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