Cooke keeps its platinum position in Canada

The family-owned salmon farmer, based in Blacks Harbour, New Brunswick on Canada’s east coast, is a 2020 winner of the Canada’s Best Managed Companies Platinum Club designation.

“Ensuring the best care for our oceans and surrounding communities continues to be in the forefront of our sustainable growth strategy,” said Cooke chief executive Glenn Cooke.

Supporting waterfronts

“Now more than ever, we believe that our relationship with the marine environment and supporting working waterfronts where both fisheries and aquaculture coexist is vital to our business and to producing top quality seafood.

“This is key to our mission and it’s because of the hard work and dedication of our people that we are successful.”

Cooke farms salmon in Canada, the United States, Scotland and Chile, and also owns Culmarex, which farms sea bass and sea bream in the Mediterranean.

The vertically integrated company’s portfolio includes forage fishing operations, fish feed manufacture and marketing and distribution.

4-Star BAP certification

Its salmon farming operations have attained the 4-Star BAP (Best Aquaculture Practices) certification mark, meeting BAP standards for sea sites, processing plants, feed mills and freshwater hatcheries.

Canada’s Best Managed Companies is one of the country’s leading business awards programmes recognising Canadian-owned and managed companies for innovative, world-class business practices.

Kari Lockhart, co-leader of the programme, said: “The contribution these companies provide to Canada cannot be overstated. Every year, Best Managed winners are raising the bar of excellence in Canadian business.”

According to figures from financial analyst Kontali, Cooke Aquaculture was the world’s sixth-largest producer of farmed salmon in 2018, harvesting 115,500 tonnes (whole fish equivalent). The majority, 71,500 tonnes, was harvested in North America, with a further 24,000 tonnes coming from Scotland and 20,000 tonnes from Chile.