November 26, 2024 — Cooke Inc. has finalized its acquisition of Peru-based Corporación Pesquera Inca S.A.C. (Copeinca), the country’s largest anchoveta-fishing firm.
New Brunswick, Canada-based Cooke announced its plans to purchase the company on 7 November. Using a binding share purchase agreement, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cooke – Copeinca Canada Inc. – will indirectly acquire all outstanding shares of Copeinca from PF Cayman New Holdco Limited.
November 8, 2024 — New Brunswick, Canada-based aquaculture firm Cooke Inc. has announced it will purchase Peruvian fishmeal and fish oil producer Corporación Pesquera Inca (Copeinca).
Under a binding share purchase agreement, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cooke will indirectly acquire all the outstanding shares of Copeinca, Peru’s largest fishing company and one of the world’s largest fishmeal and fish oil producers.
October 17, 2024 — Cooke Scotland is one of 67 different projects sharing GBP 14 million (USD 18 million, EUR 16 million) in grants from the Scottish government geared toward marine industries and coastal and island communities.
Marine Fund Scotland supports eligible individuals, businesses, organizations, and communities by funding projects that help support Scotland’s “Blue Economy” policy, which was revealed in 2022. Scotland First Minister John Swinney announced the latest round of funding during an event in Shetland, unveiling how the fund will provide assistance for everything from the needs of individual fishermen to widespread marketing efforts for Scottish seafood.
August 21, 2024 — Cooke USA is celebrating 20 years of aquaculture operations in Maine and has changed its brand logo from Cooke Aquaculture USA to Cooke USA.
The company operates marine farms in Downeast Maine, a salmon processing plant in Machiasport and three land-based freshwater hatcheries in the state, supplying Atlantic salmon to grocery stores and restaurants in New England and the United States.
“Maine’s iconic seafood industry is a key part of our state’s heritage and a cornerstone of our economy. For two decades, Cooke USA has been a leader in seafood production in Maine, employing hundreds of people in high-quality, good-paying jobs,” said Janet Mills, Maine’s governor. “I congratulate Cooke as it marks 20 years in Maine and thank this family-owned business for its extraordinary contributions to the Maine economy.”
July 11, 2024 — Ocean Fleet Services and Ocean Harvesters have filed a motion to dismiss a lawsuit that claimed Blacks Harbour, New Brunswick, Canada-based Cooke Inc. violated foreign ownership laws when it acquired Omega Protein in 2017.
The lawsuit, filed in 2021, was recently unsealed after the U.S. Department of Justice declined to intervene. Filed in New York’s Southern District Court by W. Benson Chiles and Chris Manthey, the lawsuit claims Cooke could be liable for up to USD 2 billion (EUR 1.84 billion) in fines for exceeding foreign ownership requirements for domestic U.S. fishing fleets.
June 14, 2024 — The federal government declared another economic disaster for Cook Inlet’s east side set net fishery this week, the third in three years.
The U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo issued the disaster determination for the 2023 fishing season Monday, in response to a request from Gov. Mike Dunleavy. Dunleavy’s support came following advocacy from local governments and fishing groups.
Revenue in the Kenai Peninsula fishery has been declining for years, because of low harvests and a drop in sockeye value. During the 2023 season, set netters weren’t allowed to fish at all. The state closed the fishery before the season began because of concerns about low returns of king salmon, which sockeye fishers sometimes catch accidentally.
April 29, 2024 — Atlantic salmon producer, Cooke Aquaculture USA, organized beach clean-ups in Washington County, Maine, to commemorate Earth Day 2024.
About 10 volunteers took five truckloads of debris that had washed up on the shore in Machiasport, while other volunteers gathered debris from the shore in nearby Jonesport.
March 26, 2024 — Cooke Chile, the Chilean aquaculture branch of Canadian seafood firm Cooke, has begun to harvest what it says is the country’s first organically farmed Atlantic salmon.
The organic salmon has been certified under regulations from the European Commission and Great Britain for sale in the European Union. The company said production will initially make up a quarter of Cooke’s total salmon production in Chile.
November 30, 2023 — Bioriginal, a subsidiary of Blacks Harbour, New Brunswick, Canada-based Cooke Inc., has finalized its fourth acquisition in as many months with its purchase of Grand Junction, Colorado, U.S.A.-based Softgel Co.
Softgel Co. is a manufacturer of customs gels, squeeze tubes, bottles and tincture, specializing in the encapsulation of human and pet nutrition products. It is capable of making vegan softgels from tapioca or agar, and bovine softgels, and it has a production capacity of more than a million softgels daily. Terms of the transaction were been disclosed.
November 29, 2023 — The following was released by Cooke Aquaculture Inc:
Slade Gorton, America’s Original Seafood Family™, is pleased to announce the appointment of Annie Tselikis as its new Director of Marketing and Business Development. Tselikis has held positions throughout the seafood supply chain for over fifteen years, most recently serving as the Director of Marketing and Franchise Sales at Cousins Maine Lobster, a quick-service lobster roll concept with over 60 units nationwide.
“Annie is uniquely positioned to help us expand our engagement with chain operators, particularly within the commercial and non-commercial foodservice sector. She is passionate about the seafood industry and has a deep understanding of and appreciation for each step in the value chain – from the point of harvest to the end user,” said Kim Gorton, CEO, Slade Gorton and the fifth generation of her family to lead the company.
Tselikis is excited to have found a shared mission and vision with Slade Gorton. “Throughout my career, I have been driven to increase the customer and consumer understanding of seafood. As a category, seafood offers a diverse array of species and products, and in turn, we can provide consumers with an incredible culinary experience. My goal at Slade Gorton is to translate that diversity and mystique into accessibility and confidence for everyone who encounters our products,” explained Tselikis.
The Slade Gorton team is proud of its nearly hundred-year legacy and passionate about its role in connecting dedicated mariners around the world to hungry people everywhere.