Eat the Fish

Eat the Fish is a community-focused fishery of five generations partnering with fisheries on Lake Superior, Lake Nipigon, Lake of the Woods and the Canadian Arctic. Eat the Fish processes wild-caught fish, including Trout, White Fish, Walleye, Perch, Black Crappier, and more, and distributes throughout Northern Ontario. They focus on sustaining the tradition within these communities, playing an essential role in developing a sustainable and just food system in the North.

Financial Need

Eat the Fish received a loan from the Fair Finance Fund to help scale their business. Since opening in 2016, they have seen stable growth and need to improve processing efficiency and raw materials utilization. The capital went towards automating the filet processing and reducing raw materials waste by producing dehydrated pet treats by purchasing filet machines and industrial-scale food dehydrating machines.

Impact of Project Over Loan Term

• Four new jobs created and two maintained

• Increase in economic prosperity through paying fishers a fair wage

• Improved food security within Northern Ontario

• Reduced carbon footprint by offering local fish, which historically is processed and packaged outside of Canada

• Increase in access to nutrient-dense, healthy fish in local communities in the North

• Increase in knowledge-sharing of sustainable fishing practises and professional fishing

Thunder Bay •  www.eatthefish.ca