Much interest among Canadian aboriginals in aquaculture development
The second National Aboriginal Fisheries Forum was held in Nanaimo on Vancouver Island last week, with participants from all across Canada. A program dedicated to aquaculture development of potential interest for Canadian aboriginals (First Nations, Métis or Inuit) was presented concurrently with a session on capture fisheries, and the aquaculture meeting drew a large crowd. The program was prepared by the Campbell River B.C. based Aboriginal Aquaculture Association (AAA).
Participants coming back from the meeting expressed a high level of appreciation for the information that was provided, which included, among else;
- An introduction by Dr. Stephen Cross to the principles of Integrated, Multi-Trophic Aquaculture (IMTA, where multiple species are produced on the same location, and some species benefit from utilizing the waste products from others);
- An overview by Pete Kanasawe of the Buzwah Fisheries project where rainbow trout is produced in floating cages in the giant Lake Huron in Ontario;
- The We Wai Kai Seafood Corporation which is owned by the Cape Mudge First Nation in Campbell River and its production of high quality Pacific scallops using submerged longlines;
- A description by Wally Samuel from the Ahousaht First Nation on Vancouver Island, where a Protocol Agreement has been developed between the Nation and Mainstream Canada about how the company’s salmon farms in the area should be operated while respecting First Nation culture and traditional knowledge;
- Richard Hardy from the K’omoks First Nation on Vancouver Island described the Band’s ownership of a successful aquaculture company- Pentlatch Seafood- which produces cultured clams and oysters
- Diane Coutre from Transport Canada described the certification and training requirements for operators of fishing vessels of different sizes;
- Randall Angus, Director of Integrated Resource Management with the Mi'kmaq Confederacy of Prince Edward Island spoke about the aquaculture industry in the Province;
- Les Neasloss from the Kitasoo Xai’xais First Nation from Klemtu on the central coast of B.C. explained how the local community has seen benefits from being involved with a partnership with the salmon farming company Marine Harvest Canada. This has involved the modernization and rebuilding of the local processing plant in order to service the local farms;
- Bobby Gould from the Waycobah First Nation in Nova Scotia also described how his Nation moved from oyster farming to the production of Rainbow trout in floating cages in Bras d’Or Lakes in partnership with Coldwater Fisheries;
- Linda Hiemstra from Sablefish Canada explained how her company hatches and grows out the highly priced Sablefish (black cod) in a collaborative partnership with the Kyuquot First Nation on the Westcoast of Vancouver Island;
- Sea cucumber aquaculture methods were described by Albert Yu of Wen Lian Aquaculture, along with a business model that might be of interest to First Nations in B.C.;
- Justin Henry from Target marine hatcheries explained how his company had finally produced some award-winning White sturgeon caviar- after 11 years of waiting and selling excess meat
