Grant: College & Community Social Innovation Fund

Food inequities are particularly strong in Northern and remote Indigenous communities, where food insecurity rates on-communities are often three times as high as the Canadian average. Indigenous food systems face several challenges including climate change impacts, land access, food transportation and access to culturally appropriate nutrition. Amongst other foods, fish plays a crucial role in Indigenous diets and increased access to fish has the potential to decrease food insecurity while supporting sustainable livelihoods in remote communities. Aquaculture has been proposed as a mean to propel Indigenous food sovereignty through the development of Indigenous-owned communal commercial fishing enterprises and aquaculture operations. Based in Kenora, Ontario, the Anishinaabeg of Kabapikotawangag Resource Council (AKRC) has been leading the sustainable management of natural resources, including commercial fishing in Kabapikotawangag (i.e., Lake of the Woods). In recent years, they’ve noticed changes in fish populations and have grown increasingly interested in aquaculture. Particularly, AKRC is interested in advancing research, training and knowledge dissemination surrounding two fish species in their area: Lake Whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis) and Black Crappie (Pomoxis nigromaculatus). Traditionally, Lake Whitefish has been a very important fish for Indigenous people who have been relying on it as a nutritious food for centuries, and is the main commercial species sold by Indigenous commercial fisherman. Black Crappie is both used as a recreational and a commercial fish and sold mainly in the United States. Together, with Collège Boréal, AKRC hopes to develop a research partnership based in mutual co-operation and sharing of intellectual leadership to achieve their objectives. Thus, the proposed community-based participatory research project aims to 1) identify and compare different genetic populations of Lake Whitefish in the Lake of the Wood’s region to determine their potential for aquaculture, 2) share knowledge and develop training on Lake Whitefish commercial rearing, and 3) evaluate and develop resources on Black Crappie rearing methods. The results of the study will provide several benefits including increased knowledge of the lake of the wood Lake Whitefish and Black Crappie populations and their rearing methods, including for aquaculture purposes.