Saving Seafood

Cooke eyes deal for fast-growing Argentinian shrimp firm with Spanish plant

February 20, 2020 — Acquisitive Canadian seafood giant Cooke is eyeing a deal for Grupo Cabo Virgenes, an Argentina-based fishing and processing firm with a plant in Spain, reports Alimarket.

According to the website’s sources, Cooke is looking at buying all Cabo Virgenes’ assets, which include nine vessels and a plant in Argentina, and the value-added factory in Spain, but the talks are in the early stages and a deal is not imminent. Cooke is already operating in Spain, with seabass and seabream farmer Culmarex.

Cabo Virgenes and Cooke were not immediately available for comment to Undercurrent News. 

An Undercurrent source confirmed he’d also heard of the talks. “Cooke needs to enter the Spanish [shrimp] market and Cabo Virgenes is a good operation for starting with wild shrimp in Argentina,” he said.

Cooke has already started to expand in the Argentinian shrimp sector and Glenn Cooke, co-founder and CEO, told Undercurrent last year the company plans more deals. Cooke was previously being linked to a deal for vessels owned by Grupo Conarpesa Continental Armadores de Pesca (Conarpesa), but nothing materialized. The company has also snapped up two Central American shrimp farmers, Seajoy Group and Farallon Aquaculture de Nicaragua.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

Cooke opens new AC Covert seafood distribution centre and retail outlet in Nova Scotia

December 3, 2019 — The following was released by AC Covert:

AC Covert, one of Canada’s largest seafood suppliers, is hosting an open house for the local community on Dec. 4th from 2-6pm at it’s new distribution centre and retail outlet at 390 Higney Avenue, located in the Burnside Business Park, Dartmouth, NS.

Since 1938, AC Covert has been the fishmonger supplier of choice for the finest retailers and food service professionals in Atlantic Canada. AC Covert delivers the freshest responsibly sourced and prepared fish to fine dining restaurants, hotels, gastro pubs, professional caterers and retailers locally and across North America.

AC Covert distributors was purchased by the Cooke family in 2008 and now offers over 400 different fresh and frozen seafood products to customers including smoked salmon, lobster, halibut, scallops and much more. The open house on Dec. 4th will feature seafood product samples, special offers and prizes.

“AC Covert now employs 30 people and Cooke spent $5.2 million constructing this new two-story, 26,000 square foot distribution centre and retail outlet where 6 delivery trucks operate from six days a week,” said Glenn Cooke, CEO of Cooke Inc. “This expansion is an integral part of our growth plan and we are part way through investing $112 million in Nova Scotia.”

“Nova Scotia is Canada’s number one seafood supplier and we now export to 80 international markets,” said Keith Colwell, Nova Scotia’s Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture. “We’re home to a diverse range of premium quality seafood and value-added products and it’s wonderful that AC Covert has expanded in our province to distribute products from over 30 Nova Scotia seafood companies.”

“Burnside is the largest industrial park north of Boston and east of Montreal, with almost 2,000 enterprises and approximately 30,000 employees,” said Mayor Mike Savage of Halifax Regional Municipality. “Cooke’s investment in AC Covert shows how our growing community is a beacon for attracting business investment creating local jobs.”

AC Covert is open Monday-Saturday from 8:00 am – 4:00 pm.