Akiwenzie's Fish

Akiwenzie’s Fish is technically owned by Andrew, but it is effectively run by the entire Akiwenzie family. During prime fishing season, Andrew goes out in his own boat and makes his own catches with his own lines. Natasha, a quality control perfectionist, sorts the fish and manages the processing. When the couple’s three kids are not in school, they staff the farmers market tables, assist with processing, and sometimes work on the boat.

The family’s involvement is both a choice and a necessity. It allows Andrew and Natasha to pass on to their children their cultural traditions in fishing, and to teach them how to operate a small business. But the truth is that Andrew also can neither find, nor afford, reliable help.

If the weather cooperates and it is not spawning season (when fishing is restricted) Andrew takes his boat out three times a week. He can pull up to 180-200 pounds of fish per trip. He handles the catch meticulously so as to not damage it. Then Natasha begins the time-consuming tasks of hand sorting and selecting the best fish, which she debones and fillets. Lower grade fish are prepared for brining or smoking in the family kitchen. Some fish that do not meet Andrew’s or Natasha’s standards are rejected altogether.

Before he takes the boat out each day, Andrew makes an offering to honor the water, the environment, his Chippewa heritage, and his family. He practices this by striving to limit waste. He uses processing waste—like fish heads or bones, for example—to feed the local birds. He will not fish during spawning season, to allow the fish stocks to replenish themselves. He uses a small boat and a small vehicle to minimize emissions. And he uses tours of his business as a way to give Chippewa children, including his own, a positive experience beyond the economically distressed Reservation.

A key feature of the Akiwenzie products is freshness. “By the time my competitors get the bone out of their fish,” says Andrew, “my customers are eating it.” Akiwenzie’s fish is sold quickly, and directly, at local farmers markets or to chefs and restaurants in Toronto (over 250 kilometers away from Cape Croker).

Andrew does not do any coordinated marketing or formal advertising. Customers come to him by word of mouth. But once they begin buying his product, Andrew reels them in and treats them as long-term family. “The relationships you make are important,” he says. “All the way along the line, we’ve had customers that have pushed us a little bit further, helped us, and opened doors, because they liked the product and wanted to help us. In Toronto, if I say I need something, I only have to speak it a few times and someone will say ‘I know a person for you.’”

Andrew also credits his customers for improving the Akiwenzie products. For instance, as Natasha developed her now-famous smoking recipes, customer feedback helped her fine tune the blend of smoky spices and sweet flavors that would be most marketable. Direct interactions with consumers also keep the Akiwenzies in tune with what their customers do and don’t understand about fishing itself. In this way, Natasha believes farmers markets represent a larger opportunity to educate both consumer and producer. “We get re-educated all the time based on customer questions that wouldn’t have occurred to us. For example, a surprising number of people tell us they only want to buy happy fish, which prompts us to explain our fishing methods. Other vendors also tell me they regularly have to explain their processes and the values of locally produced food.”

Selling via farmers markets also keeps the Akiwenzie family well nourished. “We do a lot of bartering,” explains Natasha. “A couple of pieces of fish for a few baskets of vegetables. That is not a bad trade off. It benefits the farmer and our entire family. Our area is very rocky and cold, and we wouldn’t get a lot of fruits and vegetables without the access our fish bring us.”

The business operates on a cash only basis. Andrew claims to keep all the important business transactions, balance sheets, and financials in his head. This is in keeping with the Chippewa’s oral tradition, but it is also possible because nearly all of Akiwenzie’s business is tax exempt. Income tax does not apply to business conducted on First Nation reserve land. And the transactions are exempt from sales taxes under Canadian law, because the only salable product is fish, a grocery item.

What few records Andrew has suggest that Akiwenzie is achieving a small but positive profit. In 2007, total sales hovered around CAD 208,000 (US$ 194,174). The gross weekly profit averaged CAD 300-500 (US $280-$467). To many businesspeople, Akiwenzie’s performance is more at the level of a subsistence fishing operation than a for-profit business.

If a balance sheet did exist, the business would probably look reasonably healthy. It has only received one grant, a tiny one from the Ministry of Natural Resources. Due to the regulations governing First Nation businesses, the Akiwenzies are not eligible for bank loans and therefore carry no debts. The modest capital items involved in the business—a boat, an ice maker, a smoker, a vacuum sealer, a few refrigerators, and a few electronic scales— are all fully paid for. Most profits have been plowed right back into expanding the business.

At one point, the Akiwenzies tried to supplement sales by setting up a fish and chips truck on their property during the summer tourist season. After just three months, however, it became clear that the venture was losing money and they shut it down. Now, they are only doing what they do best, which means concentrating on providing the highest quality fish at the best price directly to their dedicated customers.