I'm asking you to help provide access to sustainable Indigenous salmon fisheries by supporting local, self-regulated and integrated fisheries businesses led by First Nations communities through local facilitation on north-western Vancouver Island. -Paul Zysman, Community Evolution Founder.

The River Select Fisheries Cooperative was incorporated in 2014 to provide market access to sustainable Indigenous salmon fisheries. The Cooperative’s members are not just as fishers, but fishing communities. Their fisheries respect measures around selective fishing and quality control and by doing so, place the needs of rivers and the life they hold first.

The River Select Fisheries Cooperative is helping build vibrant and prosperous First Nations communities through local, self-regulated and integrated fisheries businesses led by First Nations.

Community Evolution provided a $25,000 grant in 2021 to River Select Fisheries Cooperative to support expansion of their highly successful national supply chain collaboration featuring “Authentic Indigenous Seafood” that involves branding and value-adding products sourced from small-scale artisanal fisheries from Indigenous communities across Canada (see Authentic Indigenous Seafood). With support from Community Evolution these projects have been able to improve the value and profitability of these fisheries, as well as supporting local food, cultural and economic security in these Indigenous communities.

River Select has also recently received a $20,000 donation from the Cooperators Foundation (Cooperators Group Ltd) aimed at helping build fishing cooperatives with Indigenous communities on Canada’s west coast.

We are currently seeking $20,000 matching donor support to:

1) Fund our placement of an embedded local facilitator for Ha'oom Seafoam Seafoods on north-western Vancouver Island (Mowachaht/ Muchalaht); and,

2) Fund River Select Fisheries Cooperative to assist Seafoam Seafoods (Pacheedaht/Dididaht), Tsu-Mu-Uss Seafoods (Tseshaht and Hupacasath), and Gitanyow Fisheries (Hazelton) to strengthen their business plans and their working relationship with local fishers.