January 7, 2015 — Cooke Aquaculture’s plans to expand into the scallop fishery in the US extend beyond buying Wanchese Fish Company, with east coast fishing legend Carlos Rafael also in talks to sell his fleet of scallop vessels, sources told Undercurrent News.
In a deal put together by Sam Daniels, currently president of Wanchese and one of the owning families, Canadian salmon farmer Cooke is also in talks to buy Rafael’s 12 New Bedford-based scallop vessels, sources said.
Daniels, one of 15 family members who are reportedly onboard to sell up to Cooke, did not respond to requests for comment.
Rafael declined to comment to Undercurrent on the company he is selling to or any link to Cooke’s process to buy Wanchese, but confirmed he plans to sell and the buyer is an international company that will operate the fleet from Virginia.
Wanchese is based in Suffolk, Virginia and operates a fleet of 11 vessels up the US east coast, catching scallops and other seafood, as well as two off Argentina.
He said he expects the deal for the scallop fleet to close in late January or early February.
Nell Halse, Cooke’s vice president of communications, could not be reached for comment.
Sources have questioned how a non-American company such as Cooke can own US scallop companies, as there is a limit on the level of ownership of 25%.
When asked about how he can sell to an international buyer, Rafael said: “Forget about it. This is America; anything can happen, with money behind it.”
The US scallop fishery will consolidate down into the hands of a few big players, despite supposed limits on international ownership and on one company having only 5% of permits, he said.
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