Chilean bred and Scottish fed: Invergordon's role in farmer's organic salmon expansion  

Fish farmer Cooke Aquaculture has gone to great lengths to produce Chile’s first European-certified organic Atlantic salmon – all the way to Scotland, in fact.

One of the requirements for certification is that the feed must meet certain criteria, and no such feed is available in Chile. Instead, feed has been shipped from Cooke’s Northeast Nutrition Scotland feed mill in Invergordon, which produces the feed for the 5,200 gutted weight tonnes of organic salmon produced annually by Cooke Aquaculture Scotland.

The mill will continue to supply Chile in the immediate future.

Cooke Aquaculture Chile has now begun harvesting its first organic salmon after a four-year process which included six months of sanitation and productive rest for smolt facilities and three months’ fallowing of a site in the Cupquelan Fjord in the Aysén region. Cooke Chile’s efforts ensured that its organic salmon is now approved to use the EU Organic green and white leaf logo for export to EU and UK markets.

Strong dedication

“This milestone in Chilean salmon farming is a result of keen innovation and strong dedication to providing a sustainable food source,” said Andres Parodi, regional general manager for Latin America at Cooke. “This is a true companywide vision and was made possible because of the collaborative efforts and support along the way.”

Cooke will produce around 3,200 tonnes of organic salmon in Cupquelan Fjord, equivalent to 25% of its production in Chile.

“Our team in Chile has driven this project forward with passion, commitment, and respect for the environment. We are proud of this achievement, and credit the hard work of our people for dedicating years to accomplish this,” said Cooke’s chief executive, Glenn Cooke.

“We have invested heavily in Atlantic salmon breeding programmes, fish feed production, eco-friendly fish health treatment technologies, and innovative marine farming equipment.”