The end of winter is here and the community of Listuguj is getting antsy for the opening of the Spring fishing season.

After a long winter, the community of Listuguj is excited for the opening of the 2019 fishing season...but they are stuck waiting for ice out and the winds to die down. Episode 1 is an introduction to the people, the land, the history of the fishery, the stand-off, and the court case that paved the way for self-governance and a commercial fishery.

After days of waiting, Rodney and Peter's snow crab boats are finally ready to hail out for the 2019 season.

It’s the first trip of the 2019 season, and we follow two crab vessels that are finally sailing out to sea to catch their crab quota, after days of waiting for the wind to die down. Rodney’s trip goes off without a hitch, and he is the first to return to port with his catch, but Peter has mechanical problems, and what should have been a 30 hour trip stretches into three days at sea (and the prospect of lost revenue).

It's June 11th, Mi'gwite'tm, the day to remember the raid of 1981, an event that changed everything in Listuguj.

Mi’gwite’tm is a community march and salmon feast commemorating the anniversary of the 1981 raid. It occurs during the middle of the salmon season while the fishers of Listuguj are hard at work on the river. Elders like Madeleine and Gordon are our eyes as we look back on life before and after the raid, and the emotional toll it took on the community.

In Listuguj, where salmon are an integral part of Mi'gmaq tradition, Pam brings her signature enthusiasm to the efforts to save them.

We follow Pam Isaac, one of Listuguj’s most lively characters who has been with the aquaculture team from its inception. Through Pam we find out about the efforts being taken to save the salmon and protect the rivers, and how, much like her, they may travel far away from the Restigouche River but always come home.

Blayze decides to spice up the crab season with a fun competition for his crew, while Walter spends his time dealing with mechanical troubles.

It’s mid season, and Blayze decides to have a fun competition for his crew to see who picks the best fishing spots. Meanwhile, first year captain Walter gets the worst vessel in the fleet, and struggles to keep it running through a series of mechanical problems. The Captains and crew don’t make money if their boats are not on the water. Complicating life for both, the protected Right Whales are moving into the fishing area, forcing fishers to pull their traps from the water and threatening to cut the season short.

A family of salmon fishers, Jill, Ricky and Oakley, explore how traditional fishing—and the Mi'gmaq language—are both key to the survival of the community.

Through the life of one family salmon fishing on the Restigouche River, this episode focuses on traditional fishing and passing those practices on to a younger generation. In a parallel story we get a glimpse of the efforts being made to pass on the Mi’gmaq language, which, much like the tradition of salmon fishing, had waned but is being resurrected.

The Listuguj Rangers are patrolling the river and putting safety and sustainability first.

In this episode, we meet some of the rangers who patrol the river, like mother-daughter team June and Ashley, ex-military Don Leo, and supervisor Sonny. Today, the waters are calm, but as elders like Peter Metallic tell us, it wasn’t always so – from gunshots at night to clashes with the police, finally giving way to the establishment of the communities' own branch of enforcement. The rangers' model is so successful that other Indigenous communities are looking to model after it themselves.

Josh is determined to work his way back up to captain after being demoted to deck hand.

On Captain Timmy Wysote’s boat, former captain Josh Barnaby is back to working as a deck hand. Having been demoted prior to the season for an infraction against one of the fisheries' policies, he is determined to work his way back to his old position. Meanwhile, back in the community, we meet the people who run the Beautification team and Community Garden, both direct results of the money that comes from the fishery.

100 kilometers away from Listuguj, Mi'gmaq guides are welcoming veterans to a salmon fishing retreat at the Kedgwick Lodge.

Herbie is from a long lineage (133 years) of Indigenous fishing guides at the exclusive Kedgwick Lodge, where the rich and famous have come to fish for over a century. He and the other guides prepare for the 2019 salmon season, ready to welcome their first guests, a group of military veterans. Fishing can be a little slower these days. The Kedgwick River used to be abundant with salmon, but today, the stocks have diminished significantly. We’ll find out what the Listuguj science team is doing to try and increase the population of salmon in the river.

The fishing season takes a mid-summer pause, but Lita and her Pow Wow crew are in full swing—rain or shine.

It’s mid-summer: snow crab, lobster and salmon seasons are over, rock crab will start soon, and the shrimp fishers are the only ones out on the water. It’s the perfect time for the community Pow Wow. We’ll follow Pow Wow organizer Lita Isaac and her Pow Wow “family” as the weekend unfolds, to some surprise weather and surprise help. We also get the chance to check in with our fishers from other episodes.

Steven and the crew of the GC Macdonald hail out for an 8-day journey to net thousands of pounds of shrimp.

We follow Steven Clement and the crew of the GC Macdonald—a shrimp vessel that goes out for 8 to 9 days at a time in the gulf of St. Lawrence. We find out what it’s like to be away for that long, from April to November, and how personalities aboard have to learn to get along. Long, long hours at sea, intense weather, bursts of back-breaking work interspersed with hours of mind-numbing boredom. Away from family and friends, no cell reception, just the sea, the shrimp, the seagulls and the other crew members.

Father-son rock crab fishing team Albert and Chris must do some creative problem-solving to finish their day on the water.

Father-son team Albert and Chris go out on a mid-summer fishing trip together. The waters are calm, and it looks like just another day on the water, when suddenly the boat's hydraulics stop working. Chris and Albert need to rely on each other, some MacGyver-esque problem solving (involving scissors, a rubber glove and a little luck) to get the problem resolved and continue fishing. Albert, Listuguj’s first commercial lobster fisher, reminisces about the early days of the fishery, the struggles and politics that he and his friends went through to get to where they are today.

Despite conflict with the DFO, Listuguj launches its Fall commercial lobster fishery, looking toward a future of increased self-governance and economic success.

Marcus is the youngest captain in the Listuguj fleet. Running a boat since his early teens, he is now a 10-year veteran behind the wheel at age 23. We follow his crew during the communal Fall Lobster season. But this year, there are new tensions as Listuguj incorporates a commercial aspect to the Fall fishery that puts them at odds with the DFO and the government. Meanwhile, indefatigable Pam and her science team are working hard to get the lobster cooked and bagged to give away to the community and elders. The Fall fishery has long been a tradition to provide food for community. But this year, for the first time, with an eye to the future and self-governance, the Listuguj Mi’gmaq Government is introducing a commercial aspect which isn’t sitting well with the DFO.

Captain Franklin Brisk chases his snow crab quota, while waiting in anticipation to take over the boat he learned to fish on as a deckhand.

Franklin Brisk is back on the water.  The hours are long and the work is grueling, with little sleep -- all the while chasing the Listuguj fisheries’ most lucrative species: snow crab. But this time, he’s a captain, and that means juggling new responsibilities especially since, as the newest captain, he got the oldest boat. It will do for now, despite its challenges, but Franklin and his crew are looking forward to dry docking it and getting on to their new vessel. It is a busy life for him, shuttling between the docks and his home community of Listuguj, where he meets the demands of family life. Thankfully, his mom Pam Isaac is around to lend a hand — when she’s not on the water herself.   Pam’s latest endeavour, with her science team colleague Carole-Anne Gillis and local Elder Earl Labillois, is looking for the elusive lumpfish that may be returning to the shores of the Baie des Chaleurs after a long absence.

Robert and Shannon are determined to exercise their treaty right to fish lobster, despite fears of conflict and clashes with the DFO and non-Indigenous fishers, as in years past.

While some communities, like Listuguj, QC, have made an agreement for commercial lobster fisheries with the DFO, others have not. For Sipekne'katik First Nation lobster fishers Robert and Shannon Sack, conflict is nothing new. Despite assurance from biologist Megan Bailey that Sipekne’katik’s fishery poses no conservation threat on the local lobster population, clashes with non-indigenous fishers, marred with violence and arson, have Robert worried about the future of fishing for himself and his family. Throughout it all, local band councilor Brandon Maloney makes sure his daughter learns the importance of responsible lobster harvesting.

On the cusp of becoming a first-time grandmother, multi-species Captain Beverly Denny balances snow crab and tuna fishing.

Snow crab and tuna fishing are on the menu captain Beverley Denny of Pictou Landing First Nation, Nova Scotia. As one of the first female captains in her community, she’s dealt with her share of doubt, racism and sexism. After all, for some old-school fishers, having a woman on the boat in any capacity was bad luck. Beverley couldn’t care less. A respected captain, and a mentor for young people like Austin who want to follow in her footsteps, out on the water is where she belongs. Whether it’s for the rush of adrenaline reeling in a 600lb Tuna, or the thrill of hauling in a lucrative snow crab harvest, Bev’s at the helm. But family comes first, and she won’t miss the birth of her first grandchild while out at sea.

Alanna Syliboy combines science with traditional knowledge in a race to save her favourite fish: the salmon.

With a never-ending supply of energy and positivity, Alanna Syliboy of Sipekne'katik First Nation is racing to save the endangered Bay of Fundy salmon. A traditional and staple food source for the Mi’kmaq, the salmon population in this part of Nova Scotia is dwindling. Alanna works with the Mi’kmaw Conservation Group, in alongside the Coldbrook Biodiversity Facility to study salmon, breed them, and release them back to the rivers, with the hope of one day being able to fish them again. The entire process combines traditional Indigenous knowledge with Western science, and it is the core practice that guides Alanna - the concept of Etuaptmumk, or “Two-eyed Seeing.”

After a long winter, life-long fisher Durney Nicholas is biding the time waiting for the lobster season to start.

A lifelong fisher from Pictou Landing First Nation, Nova Scotia, Captain Durney Nicholas is marking his fourth decade on the water, beginning with the opening of lobster season. He is a soft-spoken man who seems to roll with life’s punches, but behind his easy smile and laugh is a calm confidence. If there’s something to catch on the water, Durney knows how to do it. Meanwhile, a new program to train PLFN community members to become boat mechanics is underway, and the pressure is on the get all the boats ready for the fishing season.

Cadence is a Mi’kmaw teenager who returns to her community school in Sipekne’katik, where she learns how to catch a fish from local knowledge holders.

Teenager Cadence Davidson is a lesson in perseverance. She’s from Sipekne'katik First Nation, and has recently switched from the Nova Scotia provincial school system to the high school on the reserve. During a two-day striped bass fishing workshop, she learns to fish for the first time -- in theory, anyway. Catching a fish is harder than it looks.  Local knowledge holders teach her about bass behaviour and spawning. Outside of school, and armed with her new knowledge, she embarks on a quest to catch one on her own, no matter how long it takes. As Elder Doreen Bernard explains, this new approach to education, that mixes Western academics with traditional knowledge, is a far cry from what education used to be in the community, during the time of the Shubenacadie Residential School.

Traditional eel fishing brought Anthony back to his roots, and to what is important to him to pass on to the next generation.

Anthony Nicholas captains snow crab and lobster boats for Pictou Landing First Nation, but more than anything, he loves fishing eel in his spare time. Eels were a traditional mainstay for the Mi’kmaq in the past, but the practice was somewhat lost and few of Anthony’s generation fished them. This episode is the origin story of Anthony’s second act in life, when, after a huge health crisis in his 30s, and the birth of his first child, he realized how important it is to bring back the tradition of eel fishing. Eel fishing is both a connection to his past and a way forward for him and his daughter, Sierra. It’s also an origin story of the mysterious American eel: born far away in the Sargasso sea, they journey to Nova Scotian waters, where Anthony and Sierra fish them, smoke them, and share them with elders.

Chelsea Prosper leads by example, proving that women belong on the boat and in the fishery.

Chelsea Prosper is a young fisher from Pictou Landing First Nation, Nova Scotia, who grew up on the water fishing for lobster with her dad. Now in her 20s, Chelsea and her boyfriend Craig are strong advocates for the Mi’kmaq right to harvest lobster. Chelsea is equally determined to show other young women that there’s room on the deck for them, even doing the dirtiest type of fishing: herring. It wasn’t that long ago that fishing lobster from anywhere near the community’s shores was impossible, due to 50 years of pollution from a nearby pulp mill that pumped its waste into their backyard, Boat Harbour. Luckily for Pictou Landing First Nation, Chief Andrea Paul led the fight for clean water - and life is finally returning to A’sek (Boat Harbour) after the mill’s closure.  

Adam Jerome is part of an aquaculture team farming sugar kelp -- tapping into a multi-billion dollar industry, and creating some delicious products.

Adam Jerome is always full of easy-going enthusiasm and a love for his community of Gesgapegiag, and his pride and joy are the kelp products he helped develop. Called Salaweg or “Salty”, the initiative is part of a three-community effort to create jobs and economic self-sufficiency using the ocean’s renewable resources. Aboard the community’s training vessel, the “Nignag”,  Adam leads us to the first aquaculture site in Quebec dedicated to commercial sea kelp farming. There, they will harvest sugar kelp, one of the fastest-growing plants on earth. Salaweg is at the forefront of a global industry worth billions—and growing quickly. The Nignag also serves as the lead vessel for a scientific research trip to survey the herring population in the area. And of course, it all ends with a feast!

Captain Preston Paul navigates an inexperienced crew through long hours and stormy weather during a 7-day shrimp haul.

We are out for a week on the ocean aboard the Migmawei Amstel, chasing shrimp with new captain Preston Paul of Gesgapegiag, Quebec. With shrimp stocks falling, fuel prices rising, and some inexperienced crew members trying to learn the trade from Preston, the pressure is on to find the shrimp and catch enough to turn a profit. A sudden storm and huge swells challenge the crew, but some friendly competition on the boat—not to mention some healthy one-upmanship in the kitchen—keep the spirits high and everyone safe and well-fed.