The Fisher River Cree Nation spearheaded the development of Lake Winnipeg Commercial Fishers workshops in November 2021 to begin dialogue on common issues and concerns faced by commercial fishers on Lake Winnipeg. The commercial fisher presidents and their alternates attended the workshops to collaborate and explore ways on how they can work together and also with the various levels of government to explore the Fishery Improvement Project, (FIP), and economic benefits/impacts of eco-certification. Meetings initially included all commercial fishing areas and communities of Lake Winnipeg and later evolved into the newly formed Board entitled, Lake Winnipeg Indigenous Commercial Fishers Inc. (the “Board”) as per majority decision of the area Presidents and Alternates. The Board process was accomplished through provincial and federal funding support to develop the Board structure, and to host a number of workshops. The primary focus of the workshops was to increase and strengthen efforts to address the fisheries issues of Lake Winnipeg, and to gain information and move forward on the Fishery Improvement Project leading up to the Eco-Certification process which requires a number of phases.
On-going workshops topics included guest speaker presentations from provincial and federal representatives and other departments. Topics included Fishery Improvement Project (FIP) and deliberations on best methods on how to collaborate and work with the various governments to begin the steps necessary towards this process ensure our sustainability and protect the fishers’ traditional livelihood of sustainable fishing and marketing. Now that the Board structuring process is complete, and information has been shared on the FIP and eco-certification process, the focus of the Board is now on the planning and engaging in Phase development of the Fishery Improvement Project, starting with the Phase 1 – the pre-assessment process.