The Kitasoo/Xai’Xais First Nation began farming and processing salmon in the late 1980s, forming a partnership for the business with Mowi in 1998. This was the first agreement developed by a salmon farming company and a First Nation in British Columbia. Mowi operates six salmon farms in Kitasoo/Xai’Xais territory with an average annual harvest of 5,000 tonnes of salmon. The processing plant in Klemtu was recently converted to a smokehouse, and in December of 2021, Walmart Canada was announced as the exclusive retailer of Klemtu Spirit Hot Smoked Atlantic Salmon, a newly launched seafood product produced by the Nation.
Fish farming and processing is the main source of employment in Klemtu, generating more than 50 jobs for the small, remote community on the central coast of British Columbia. The Kitasoo/Xai’xais First Nation prides itself in stewarding their territory and guarding their values. For the Kitasoo/Xai’xais, it is important to ensure that future generations inherit healthy lands and waters to steward for the next millennia.