Keshken is a trademark belonging to AMIK, a non-profit organization with the mission of supporting and promoting the fisheries of North Shore Innu communities. The brand designates fisheries products developed primarily by members of Canada’s First Nations.

In Canada, most Aboriginal fish and seafood is sold without any distinctive brand. To highlight the achievements of the communities’ work and to offer consumers a guarantee of the authenticity of Canadian First Nations food products, AMIK has established the project called Keshken, from an Innu word meaning “first wave.”

Keshken foods meet high quality criteria outlined in a standards book and ensured by strict controls. Each product involves the work of a First Nation in at least two of the three stages of bringing it to market, namely fishing, processing and marketing. AMIK grants the right to use of the trademark to companies that meet the Keshken requirements.

Through a valued partnership with Ecotrust Canada, Keshken benefits from the ThisFishTM traceability system, enabling consumers to trace their product’s path from the fishing boat to their plate. We thereby ensure total transparency

Goals

We aim to emphasize the outstanding quality of fish and seafood caught in keeping with the values of Indigenous communities, bringing these products to the world’s top tables. To this end, Keshken pursues the following goals:

  • Stimulate the social and economic development of Canada’s Indigenous communities;
  • Make the various Canadian Indigenous communities working in the fisheries better known;
  • Bestow a reputation for excellence on Canada’s Aboriginal fish and seafood, nationally and later internationally;
  • Make it easier for consumers to identify products from the Aboriginal fisheries.

Social and economic benefits

In the Canadian Indigenous culture, the spinoffs generated by fishing activities benefit the entire licence-holding community. The commercialization of Keshken foods thereby adds to the growth of the collective wealth of Indigenous communities and to the enhancement of their quality of life. The trademark also gives Canadian First Nations a way to stand out in a strongly competitive environment and to penetrate national and international markets.

Fresh products cradled by the Aboriginal wave.