Akiwenzie’s Fish Summary

Canada: Akiwenzie’s Fish
      www.akiwenziesfish.blogspot.com

 

Based out of Cape Croker, Ontario, a hamlet on Lake Huron's Georgian Bay, Andrew Akiwenzie is continuing the Chippewa people's tradition of fishing that has sustained inhabitants of this remote region for centuries. Akiwenzie's Fish, owned by its namesake husband and wife team, is a micro-enterprise dedicated to catching, smoking, and distributing high-quality fish for sale at local markets. Cape Croker is part of the Chippewas of Nawash Unceded First Nation, the members of which live on a 64-kilometer reservation. Akiwenzie's Fish is a continuation of the Chippewa tradition in fishing the Georgian Bay. Balancing place-based cultural traditions and the rules of the reservation creates specific parameters within which the business functions. It continues to prosper based on a model that prizes tight quality control, direct sales, and strong customer relations.

 

All five members of the Akiwenzie family help out: Andrew operates the lines and nets from his boat and his wife Natasha sorts the catch, deboning and filleting by hand. When not in school, their three children help on the boat and with the processing and staff the tables at farmers markets. While the business is unable to afford reliable hired labor, the parents are passing along the Chippewa tradition of fishing to their children, as well as teaching them how to run a successful small business. Andrew's commitment to ecological responsibility is manifested in the reuse of processing waste (fish heads and bones) to feed local birds, and the fact that he does not fish during spawning season, allowing fish populations to replenish. Even his boat and vehicle are small to minimize carbon emissions.

 

Akiwenzie's Fish does not advertise, but praise travels by word of mouth. They sell in regional farmers markets and source their products directly to chefs in Toronto. Direct communication with customers helps them refine their smoking techniques, and offers a chance to tell the story of why they fish the way they do. “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.”

 

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