by Mitch Downton & Aimee Searle, APCFNC

Each year, the Atlantic Policy Congress of First Nations Chiefs Secretariat (APCFNC) honours the hard work of Indigenous men and women supporting their communities through the commercial fisheries. This was APC’s 22nd Annual Fisheries Conference, and due to the ongoing nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, the event was held virtually for the first time. The conference hosted over 75 participants ranging from Elders, Fisheries managers and coordinators, government officials, business leaders, Aboriginal Aquatic Research and Ocean Management (AAROM) organizations, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), academia, and community members. The annual event is designed to touch on issues that affect the communal commercial fisheries for Atlantic First Nation communities. This allowed for a high

level of engagement for sustainable economic opportunities.

On the first day of the conference, Elder Joe Michael from Sipekne’katik started off with an opening prayer. APCFNC Executive Director, John G. Paul, followed by highlighting the continued growth of Atlantic First Nations’ commercial fisheries. Mr. Paul discussed an overview of Atlantic Fisheries Programs and provided updates to these ongoing initiatives.

The conference continued with speakers from a broad range of backgrounds who presented on important themes related to the First Nation fishery industry. Some of the highlights this year included presentations by TriNav on market analyses and outlooks surroun ...