Cooke's founding father dies
Former marine mechanic helped build up company that now employs nearly 13,000
Gifford Cooke, who co-founded seafood giant Cooke Aquaculture Inc. with his sons Glenn and Michael Cooke in 1985, has died, the company announced today.
“On behalf of the Cooke family and our employees, I would like to express our gratitude for the immense contributions Gifford has made to rural coastal communities in Eastern Charlotte, New Brunswick, and throughout Atlantic Canada and the globe,” said Cooke public relations chief Joel Richardson.
“Over the decades, Gifford and his children, Glenn, Michael, and Debbie built a local family company into a global seafood leader with fully integrated facilities, product lines and distribution networks. Cooke provides careers to nearly 13,000 employees in 15 countries and is passionate about supporting community and conservation projects.”
Robust work ethic
Gifford Cooke was a marine mechanic for much of his career in Blacks Harbour, New Brunswick, Atlantic Canada. At Cooke Aquaculture, he worked alongside the employees to modernise the company’s freshwater salmon hatcheries and vessel fleet, and led countless construction projects, said the company.
“Gifford’s outgoing personality, robust work ethic, friendly sense of humour and steadfast faith will leave a void not easily filled,” the company stated in a press release. “The global Cooke family will miss him greatly. Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife Marjorie, family, and his many friends.”
Cooke farms salmon in Canada, the United States (Maine), Scotland (Orkney and Shetland), Chile, and most recently in Tasmania, Australia following the purchase of Tassal. The company also farms seabass and sea bream in the Mediterranean, shrimp in Australia and central America, and barramundi in the Kimberley region of Australia. Cooke also operates a fleet of fishing boats catching forage fish, and operates feed mills and a distribution network.
