About Us
Authentic Indigenous Seafood
is a supply chain cooperative of Indigenous fisheries across Canada, featuring small to medium-sized enterprises that are guided by traditional principles of ecological, cultural and economic sustainability.
The services Authentic Indigenous Seafood provides to its co-op members…
Landing Site Support
We assist with the essentials at the landing site, including providing totes and ice to ensure your catch is handled and stored properly.
Processing
We partner with a range of processors to get your seafood prepared just right, whether it’s for fresh market, freezing, or turning into value-added products.
Distribution
We facilitate the delivery of your seafood products to our (worldwide) retailers, restaurants, and other buyers. We have multiple hubs in British Columbia to ensure frequent and reliable product delivery.
Logistics
We help manage the transportation and handling of your seafood (products) from the landing site to the consumer.
Business Modelling
With our specially developed software, we model business statistics for small fisheries to support informed decision-making.
Marketing
We can brand and promote your local seafood products, building market demand and connecting you with consumers who value Indigenous-sourced seafood.
“Our supply chain co-op builds capacity to reinvigorate our traditional fisheries economies”
Gord Sterritt (Wo’os Sa’Lo’op)
CEO, Authentic Indigenous Seafood
Member of the Gitxsan Nation and Wilps Wii Muugilxsw, a wolf clan from Kispiox.
The core values
we operate by:
1. Cultural Preservation and Promotion
Promote Indigenous fisheries, products, and their associated cultures and fishing practices.
2. Environmental Sustainability
Advocate for market appreciation of Indigenous products derived from fisheries that embrace sustainable fishing practices and ecosystem protection.
3. Community Support and Security
Support Indigenous fisheries in fostering food, cultural, and economic security for their communities.
4. Improve Indigenous Market Access
Enhance the prosperity of Indigenous fishing enterprises by improving market access for their locally branded and value-added products.
5. Elevate Canadian Indigenous Fisheries
Advance Indigenous-branded seafood production across Canada through cooperative services, supply chains, and markets.
Why the co-op model?
Like all co-operatives, Authentic Indigenous Seafood is collectively owned and democratically governed by its members for their mutual benefit. Its democratic structure allows the co-op to pursue the values that reflect the interests of its members and the communities they serve – not outside interests. What does this mean in practice?
1. Shared Prosperity
We use our co-operative distribution networks for Indigenous brands to reduce everyone’s costs and to support their investment throughout our shared value chain. At the end of each year, our co-op distributes its profits to our members, ensuring that the financial gains are shared among those who contribute to our success.
2. Cultural Preservation and Integration
Our co-op works with our Indigenous partners to preserve and integrate cultural traditions such as collective ownership and community-centric values into our business model, ensuring that the co-op serves holistic community goals.
3. Economic Empowerment
We empower our Indigenous community economic development by sharing our market access with each other to generate local wealth, create jobs and build economic growth, while respecting each community’s business autonomy.