Saskatchewan’s cold-water fish makes waves on the European market

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Once the temperature drops, the fishing industry heats up in a small village in northern Saskatchewan — thanks to the tullibee.

“They are saving the Pinehouse fishing industry,” said Lionel Smith, commercial fisherman from his home on Pinehouse Lake.

The tullibee, also known as a northern cisco, lake herring, or chub, is a small roughly two-pound fish found in northern cold-water lakes.

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Once upon a time, commercial fishermen in Pinehouse would cast the petite fish from their nets in favour of much larger and tastier fish.

But food connoisseurs across the ocean have changed that narrative. The once seemingly undesirable fish is harvested for its roe and is a rare delicacy in Europe. As a result, the tullibee is providing a lucrative income for fish harvesters, and after five years, the nascent local industry is still going strong.

“Things were slowly dropping in the last ten years,” said Smith about the fishing industry in Pinehouse. “We were going to be dead, so this is a big bonus for the community − it’s saving our industry.”

However, there is a very short window in October when the tullibee spawn and drop their eggs, so crews must work fast and work hard.

While the window is open, Smith and a large crew of fishers set out in fishing boats and cast nets for about eleven hours during the day, hauling up huge quantities of tullibee.

They sell the tullibee to Winnipeg’s Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation, delivering a semi-truck full of fish every day for about two weeks.

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Freshwater processes the tullibee for caviar, which is then shipped overseas to Scandinavian countries like Sweden and Finland.

“It’s serious money,” said Smith.

According to Smith, who has been catching and selling tullibee for the last five years, Freshwater sends them a semi-truck load full of ice every day. They usually bring in about 60-100 tubs of tullibee every day, which holds 27 kilograms of fish. They sell the fish a $1.76 per kilogram, which works out to $47.50 per tub.

“For a long time we’ve struggled, fishing only to make pennies,” said Smith. “This is a huge success and a real benefit for the community.”

Pinehouse has about 12 licensed, commercial fishermen. However, during the Tullibee harvest they hire about 50 to 80 individuals and pay them $300 in cash per day.

For the village with roughly 1,000 people, it’s been a huge economic boon.

The quantity of fish they’re able to catch is rare, even for northern Saskatchewan, said Smith.

“Ile-a-la-Crosse wanted to get into this, and said they catch lots,” said Smith. “They were pulling in about 15-20 tullibee per net, they said. We catch 300 per net.”

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The community is well aware the ebb and flow of the fish population, and though the last five years have been going well, Smith noted there’s no guarantee it’ll last forever.

The lakes in the area are also abundant with mullet and rockfish, he said, which they have not yet capitalized on. He hopes if the tullibee resources decrease, they can find buyers for other types of fish.

Although Smith is grateful for the abundant fish resources at Pinehouse, he hasn’t quite developed a palate for it.

“No, natives don’t eat caviar. You’ll never catch an Indian eating tullibee,” he said. “We have whitefish and jackfish. They are better for eating.”

All joking aside, they appreciate the bounty and are thankful for all they have received thus far.

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