COOKE AQUACULTURE EXPANDS SALMON BREEDING PROGRAMME

Cooke Aquaculture expands salmon breeding programme. With support from the Government of Canada, Cooke Aquaculture is expanding its facilities and advancing its existing salmon breeding programme. The investments will enable the company to expand its Oak Bay hatchery where it will develop and implement advanced genomics technology, building on its salmon breeding expertise. Government support will also help expand and modernize the company’s Johnson Lake hatchery facility, creating up to six new, highly skilled jobs.

Both expansion projects support innovation and productivity improvements in the aquaculture sector and are part of Cooke Aquaculture’s five-year plan to invest over $500 million in Atlantic Canada. The Government of Canada is providing contributions of more than $5.6 million to support these projects.

Karen Ludwig, Member of Parliament for New Brunswick Southwest, on behalf of the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA), along with Cooke Aquaculture CEO Glenn Cooke, made the announcement.

Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development and Minister responsible for ACOA , said: “Our Government is committed to a coordinated strategy on innovation that delivers results for all Canadians. A key aspect of that strategy is to advance research and technology that will help grow and develop the aquaculture sector in an environmentally responsible way. Today’s investment in Cooke Aquaculture will create jobs, deepen our expertise, and benefit Atlantic Canada for many years to come.”

Karen Ludwig, Member of Parliament for New Brunswick Southwest said: “I’m thrilled to see our government’s support for Cooke Aquaculture, a company that has been leading the way in the aquaculture sector and making an enormous contribution to our regional economy. These expansions will enable Cooke Aquaculture to build on its already vast expertise in salmon breeding and contribute to the development of advanced technology that will help fuel further growth and commercialization, all while creating and maintaining highly-skilled jobs our region.’’

Glenn Cooke, CEO, Cooke Aquaculture, added: “Our family purchased this hatchery 30 years ago, just a few years after establishing our first salmon farm in Kelly Cove. We invested in a hatchery to ensure we’d have a consistent and independent supply of eggs and smolt. As the company has expanded across the region, so has our need to grow this supply. This facility has continued to play a very important part in our operations and our ability to grow healthy seafood in a safe and sustainable manner.”