First Nation celebrates 25-year salmon farming pact with Mowi
Aquaculture partnership between the Kitasoo Xai’xais and Mowi Canada West hailed in a poignant ceremony to exemplify the true meaning of reconciliation with First Nations.
By Fabian Dawson
SeaWestNews
Aquaculture pioneers, the Kitasoo Xai’xais First Nation in British Columbia, celebrated their 25-year partnership with salmon farmer Mowi Canada West this week, in a poignant ceremony to honour those who have made a transformative impact on their remote indigenous community.
Amidst the lush backdrop of the Great Bear Rainforest, the community came together in the tiny hamlet of Klemtu for a blanketing ceremony that was rich in symbolism and tradition to exemplify the true meaning of reconciliation with Canada’s First Nations.
A blanketing ceremony is a symbol of respect in First Nation culture for those who have made an important contribution to the community. Honoured guests are draped with a special blanket in front of witnesses, and it is theirs to keep.
Among those honoured were Diane Morrison, the managing director of Mowi Canada West, who first arrived in Klemtu in 2000 as a veterinarian and Ian Roberts, who was part of Mowi’s delegation that negotiated the Agreement with the Kitasoo Xai’xais in the mid-1990s – the first of its kind in British Columbia.
Also blanketed were Katie Maximick (Coalition of First Nations for Finfish Stewardship) and Susan Smith (Bluesky Strategy Group), for their support in helping the Kitasoo Xai’xais engage with the Canadian Government, that aims to ban open net salmon farming in its traditional territory.
“Klemtu and the Kitasoo Xai’xais Nation community hold a very special place in my heart. I started visiting the farms and the community just as the first generation of fish raised in the territory was harvested,” said Morrison.
“The operations and the relationship have grown, matured, and strengthened over the years. I was extremely proud and honoured to be blanketed by the Nation,” she said.
Roberts, who was the first Production Manager for the salmon farming operations in Klemtu from 1998-2008, said the blanketing ceremony was an honour of a lifetime.
“Hearing ‘welcome home’ from friends made over 25 years ago absolutely warms my heart. This ceremony taking place just a week before I depart the company is no doubt the bookend to my Mowi career that was needed for me,” he said.
Isaiah Robinson, Chief Executive Officer of the Kitasoo Development Corporation said: “As we celebrate our 25th anniversary, it’s clear that the salmon farming sector remains a vital catalyst for our Nation’s success and highlights the strong relationship between industry and our community.
“The blanketing ceremony reflects the hard work of colleagues at all levels, ensuring our voices are heard and we are well represented. The ceremony conducted by our Hereditary Chiefs is a profound gesture of gratitude to those who tirelessly fight for our community across the country,” he said.
Brian Kingzett, executive director of the BC Salmon Farmers Association (BCSFA), said
the Kitasoo Xai’xais salmon farming story is an amazing case study in Indigenous economic reconciliation, marine science, and in marine conservation.
“I believe that this is a look into the future where First Nations can drive their own economies in rural coastal BC through aquaculture partnerships and science-based conservation. The fact that more than 25 years later, this community is now able to diversify its economy, create meaningful wealth and receive global accolades for its marine conservation is simply amazing,” he said.
The Kitasoo Xai’Xais began farming and processing salmon in the late 1980’s, forming a partnership for the business with Mowi in 1998 – the first agreement developed by a salmon farming company and a First Nation in British Columbia.
Today, 100 per cent of BC’s farmed salmon is raised in agreement with Rights Holder First Nations.
For the Kitasoo Xai’xais, the partnership with Mowi has helped the community emerge from a dark era of poverty, depression and suicides.
“The thing that has not been said is that in the dark era in the early 90’s we had tons of suicides because there was just nothing to do in this remote community…Mowi and the other aquaculture companies are saving us from an era of sadness and darkness which you know, I as a councillor don’t want to ever deal with again,” said Robinson in an earlier interview.
He said the Kitasoo/Xai’xais Development Corporation together with Mowi has done a phenomenal job and the community now has a 100 percent employment rate.
Over 50 per cent of the Kitasoo Xai’xais’ revenue today is derived from their salmon farming partnership, all while conserving over 52 per cent of their territory through their Great Bear Sea and Rainforest initiatives.
The First Nation was recently awarded the prestigious Blue Park Award, for exceptional marine biodiversity conservation – a testament to the indigenous community’s stewardship of its traditional territories.
The Kitasoo/Xai’xais is part of the Coalition of First Nations for Finfish Stewardship, which is fighting to retain traditional rights to farm fish, as the government works on a transition plan for the open-salmon farming sector in British Columbia.
BC salmon farmers generate over $1.142 billion of direct economic activity annually supporting over 6,000 jobs mainly in the provinces coastal indigenous and non-indigenous communities. Salmon farming in BC directly and indirectly employs over 700 Indigenous people and provides $120 million in total annual economic benefits to First Nations, with $42 million going directly to Indigenous communities.
Last month, the Liberal government, bowing to demands of anti-fish farming activists, announced a ban open-net salmon farming in British Columbia after 2029 – a move which will have far-reaching negative consequences for Canada’s economy, coastal communities, and First Nations.
The government’s own fisheries experts have concluded that these marine operations pose minimal risk to wild stocks, yet their science-based assessments have been ignored in favour of unfounded fears and misinformation propagated by the activists.
Aquaculture dependent First Nations have strongly criticized the proposed open-net salmon farming ban in BC stating that it represents a return to paternalistic policies where Ottawa dictates how Indigenous peoples should manage resources in their traditional territories.
It has delivered a plan titled, “Indigenous-led Finfish Aquaculture Transition Framework” to the government stressing the need to drive the social and ecological well-being for their territories and communities and enhance food security and affordability for all Canadians.
Submitted Photo – From left, Roxanne Robinson; Hereditary Chief Harvey Robinson; Susan Smith from Bluesky Strategy Group; Mowi Canada West managing director Diane Morrison; Mowi Scotland, Ireland and Canada communications director Ian Roberts; Katie Maximick, of the Coalition of First Nations for Finfish Stewardship; and Isaiah Robinson, chief executive of the Kitasoo Development Corporation, during the blanketing ceremony by the Kitasoo Xai’xais First Nation.