Akiwenzie's Fish

“You can only sell bad fish to a person once,” says Andrew Akiwenzie, “but your ability to sell good fish to people is unlimited.” That, in a nutshell, is the business strategy of Akiwenzie’s Fish, a sole proprietorship he runs with his wife Natasha. The enterprise is dedicated to catching, smoking, and distributing high-quality fish like perch, trout, and whitefish caught right outside their home in Cape Croker.

Cape Croker is a tiny hamlet on the Georgian Bay, perched on the eastern outcropping of Lake Huron in a remote part of the Canadian province of Ontario. The land is part of the Chippewas of Nawash Unceded First Nation, the members of which live on a 64-square kilometer reservation. For centuries, Chippewa people have been living here with fishing as a central part of daily life. Akiwenzie’s Fish comes straight out of this tradition.

The business demonstrates both the opportunities and challenges faced by an independently owned micro- enterprise, particularly as it balances place-based cultural traditions against the particular rules of the reservation. Key to its success has been tight quality control, direct sales, and strong customer relations.