Yesterday, it was publicly announced that a coalition of Mi'kmaq First Nations and Premium Brands had partnered together to purchase the Nova Scotia-based Clearwater Seafoods. The large-scale company is Atlantic Canada's largest seafood producer and North America's largest shellfish producer and was purchased for a whopping one billion dollars.
"This is a transformational opportunity for the Mi'kmaq to become significant participants in the commercial fishery through the investment in existing infrastructure, management expertise, and a global market presence," said Chief Terry Paul of Membertou First Nation in yesterday's announcement.
He goes on to say that this is the largest investment in the seafood industry by an Indigenous group in Canada. In addition to becoming 50 per cent owners of Clearwater, the Mi'kmaq First Nations are also expected to fully own all Canadian fishing licenses of the company. After everything that's happened in Nova Scotia in recent weeks in terms of Indigenous fishing rights, this can all be summed up as a big win.
The Clearwater Seafoods acquisition is still subject to shareholder approval and is expected to officially go through some time in January 2021.
