Fishing has always been an integral part of Indigenous culture, but Mississauga First Nation (MFN) is moving in a progressive direction with plans to create an aquaculture facility that enables the community to generate own-source revenue.
Over the past five years, the community has been working to develop a land-based, recirculating aquaculture project that will create meaningful, long-term employment for community members, while bringing economic rejuvenation to the community.
The community is anticipating construction to begin this summer. Operations would start afterwards with the initial stock of trout being ready for sale in roughly 18 months.
The operation expects to produce hundreds of tonnes of rainbow trout annually.
“Following a lengthy but educational development process, our community’s project is on the cusp of bringing great benefits to us all,” said MFN Chief Bob Chiblow.
Project funding support comes from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) which supports First Nations in achieving their business goals, DFO’s Northern Integrated Commercial Fisheries Initiative (NICFI), Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) provided funding for this project. Other anticipated partners include the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corp (NOHFC), and FedNor.
“We are very happy to finally be moving towards the construction phase of our project. Everyone is eager to get started,” Chiblow said.
(With files from Northern Ontario Business)