Okanagan Nation Aquatic Enterprises (OAE) Ltd.

The Okanagan Nation Alliance is located in the interior of British Columbia. Our journey begins with a devoted effort to re-establish a sustainable population of Okanagan Sockeye Salmon in 2003. The Okanagan Nation Alliance is committed to bringing our salmon back by creating partnerships and by integrating modern science with traditional practices. Our goal for the future is to protect, enhance, conserve and continue to restore our salmon stocks so that we can have salmon for tomorrow. Responsible fisheries and quality management are eco-labelled Ocean Wise and independently certified to meet our high standards of Quality, Value and Sustainability. The Fishermen Beliefs and traditions are a very important part of First Nations’ culture and often reflect a deep understanding and respect for nature. Okanagan Select honors their roots by using holistic traditional practices of selective fishing—handed down from our ancestors. The Okanagan Nation has a dedicated group of fishermen who are committed to these methods and harvest only a small artisanal fishery. This fishery allocates annually- appropriate harvests, respecting community food and social needs, followed by economic opportunities. Sustainability Our goal is to provide a high quality product from sustainable fisheries that will not jeopardize our future wild salmon stocks. We want to honour the resiliency and prosperity of our natural environment by using only selective fishing methods. Using selective harvesting methods and quality control, we’re keeping an eye on the future without forgetting our past. We utilize abundance-based methods to allow the fish to get to the spawning grounds, honor ecosystem based fishery and practice lifecycle analysis to understand the fishery and it’s impacts. To ensure the sustainability of the salmon and our local ecosystem – fish are hand-picked with fish-friendly methods – e.g. troll, seine, traps, and dip net. The ONA has turned traditional concepts into modern selective fishing practices to minimize bi-catch.