Fish farms dangled as small-town economy boosters
Government policy and guidelines continue to thwart expansion of the fish farming industry in Northern Ontario – an industry that could help revive struggling rural and single-industry towns, aquaculture industry insiders claim. The Northern Ontario Aquaculture Association says there is “excellent potential” for slow, carefully planned expansion of the industry in the North. The cage culture industry sustains employment in the Northern Ontario communities of Little Current, Espanola, Manitowaning, Kagawong, Gore Bay, Mindemoya, Evansville, Val Caron, Parry Sound, Sudbury and North Bay. Closer to home, Atikokan‘s Snow Lake Fish Farm was established in 1989 by David Lindsay, who created Atikokan Fish Co-operative Inc., a workers‘ co-op that helped turn the former Steep Rock pit into a “green,” job-creating asset. During its peak, the fish farm sold more than half a million pounds of rainbow trout to Winnipeg, Thunder Bay, Toronto and New York.

50 Year Ago: New Conway Co-op operating store
March 27, 1958 – The Conway Cooperative Society was formed as a buying and marketing agent for local agriculturalists, and it planned to establish a grading station for vegetables and other farm produce. In the meantime, the society was operating the former New-Way Supplies Store in Conway. Elected president of the new society was Chipman Chisholm of Bear River.