Hana Nelson

Owner Afishionado Fishmongers, 2530 Agricola Street

“In travelling, I realized the main connection between people was food, it transcended nations,” says Hana Nelson, who studied international development, and then a master’s in agriculture in Europe, before arriving back in Halifax. Passionate about the purveyors of our food, this fall she opened Afishionado, an small-scale fish monger that brings fresh, sustainable seafood to shoppers, but also educates them on the regulatory issues surrounding local fish. “No one was doing anything in terms of connecting us to the people that fish our food. That to me, that challenge, was what drove me to pursue it,” says Nelson, who, in efforts to get Haligonians eating the interesting fruit of our oceans (like, sea urchins and oysters) has been holding pop-up events at neighbour Lion & Bright every two weeks. “It’s always been the people, not the culinary side. I’m more interested in how we fish and how we get it here.”