I started doing best practices forums with first nations from around British Columbia that were developing these new river fisheries back in 2005. We did some 40 workshops with fishermen in communities and eventually incorporated the best practices forum into the Inland Salmon Producers Association. We created a charter for responsible trade among the first nations so that the principles we heard a lot about today from fishermen were embraced.
Then we created a fishers co-operative, and I'm the executive director and business manager for the River Select Fisheries Co-operative. That's the service co-operative that helps the small producers get into the value chain and get more value out of their fish.
We still work with the fish companies, but it's transcended the relationship. Now these co-operatives work with the fish processors to add value to their catch, and all of these local fish producers are able to brand their fish right back to the fishery where they came from. Traceability becomes more about local conservation, the story of the fishery, and stewardship of the fishery as well as looking after the fishermen.