First Nations eye Chinese fish market

Last Updated: Monday, October 22, 2007 | 4:19 PM CT

CBC News


First Nations in Manitoba are working to create a new industry selling "rough fish" such as carp and mullet to consumers in China.
Native leaders in Manitoba are meeting over the next few weeks with John Du, a senior government official from Beijing, about the potential for fish exports.
"We need fish. The Chinese eat fish every day. It's not a luxury thing," said Eva Luk, Du's translator, at a reception in Winnipeg last week.
The demand for fish in China is ever-increasing as the country struggles with contamination of freshwater stocks and a decrease in fish farms, Luk said.
There is already some market for the rough fish, so fishers are already catching them ― but not on the scale suggested in the Chinese concept.
Morris Shannacappo, head of the Southern Chiefs Organization, said several reserves have expressed interest in establishing a fishing industry aimed specifically at the Chinese market.
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"In discussion with a lot of the fishers from our communities, there is no market for the rough fish," he said.
"I would say we've found a market. It's just making it a sustainable development."
Mervin Lynx, chief of Tootinaowaziibeeng Treaty Reserve (Valley River), near Dauphin, Man., said a local fishing industry could help solve a serious unemployment problem on the reserve.
"We have no business in our community, absolutely nothing at all," Lynx said.
The Chinese government is close to reaching a deal with First Nations, Luk said.
Some aboriginal leaders said they will need financial help from the federal and provincial governments if they are to set up an entirely new industry.
Provincial officials said they hadn't seen a proposal on the matter yet, but added the provincial government generally supports First Nations economic ventures when possible.