First Fish is bringing the catch of Inuit harvesters to Ontario and bringing the proceeds back into communities around Nunavut.
First Fish is a Toronto-based non-profit that began when Michael Labbe, the company’s founder, travelled to Qikiqtarjuaq, Nunavut in 2015 to aid in affordable housing options for the community.
“Part of the requirements is that you need to have a pretty good job, so we found that there was a really big need for employment up there,” said Divya Vaghela, the Marketing and Sales Coordinator for First Fish. “There’s a couple fisheries and we started working with them to build out more employment and create some more processing jobs out there.”
First Fish partnered with fish harvesters and processors from Pangnirtung and Rankin Inlet to supply Ontario communities with Arctic char and turbot. Arctic char from First Fish is available in fillets, as well as cold-smoked, hot-smoked, candied and cubed. Their turbot is available filleted, cold-smoked or hot-smoked.
In 2023, First Fish purchased and distributed 10,000 pounds of fish from the Pangnirtung and Rankin Inlet fisheries. The surplus proceeds for all the sales made by First Fish are reinvested in the communities that the fish originated from. According to Vaghela, the proceeds from First Fish sales directly contributed to the creation of several new positions within the Inuit-owned companies in 2023.
“Any surplus that we have after covering general expenses to run the business will be reinvested up north into the fishery to be able to grow that more or hire more fishermen or whatever the communities are looking for,” said Vaghela.
First Fish proudly proclaims that all the fish sold through their company is hand-caught, which they claim reduces the environmental impact of their operation.
“There is little to no bycatch. Our fishermen also follow two rules. They follow government quotas and also the quotas set by their communities about how much can be fished,” said Vaghela. “When they go out and hand catch it, they’re really able to stick to the commitments that they made, which is better than a lot of commercial fishing industries are able to do. It’s been great to have that wild-caught, environmentally sustainable aspect.”
Due to their Arctic climate, First Fish said their catch boasts around double the omega-3s that other non-Arctic salmonids contain.
“It’s a little bit better for you, and it’s a lot cleaner,” said Vaghela. “There is lower levels of mercury and other contaminants. It’s almost completely free of a lot of those things, which is really great.”
Back in Ontario, Vaghela said the reception to these northern-caught fish has been great.
“A lot of the restaurants are impressed by the quality of the fish and they’re really happy to be making a difference. We’re not at too much higher of a price point than other fish, as well, so it’s really great to make it accessible and get people involved. Even just telling people about Pangnirtung and Rankin Inlet; they’re able to look into those communities, and if it inspires them to look into other Indigenous initiatives in their areas, it’s always great to share that narrative.”
In the future, Vaghela said that interest is starting to grow outside of their home province, especially in British Columbia.
“We’ve been getting a lot of interest for going out west recently, so we’ve really been exploring that,” said Vaghela. “We’re open to expanding across Canada and trying to make sure we can get this product in as many places as possible and continue to grow the organization.”
