Charlotte County-based Cooke Aquaculture has entered into an agreement to move forward with the purchase of Mowi Canada East — part of one of the world’s leading fish farming companies.
Mowi has 250 employees across New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador.
Joel Richardson, the vice president of Cooke, said the transaction will be complete by December and plans to maintain its employee base.
“We don’t anticipate any job losses,” Richardson said. “We’ve grown operations and strengthened jobs.”
He said Cooke has seen expansion to 16 countries worldwide, and are invested in growing operations in Atlantic Canada.
Mowi has struggled with fish health in Atlantic Canada, according to Richardson.
“They’ve decided it may be best for a company like Cooke to take over operations,” he said. “We have over 40 years of experience growing Atlantic salmon in Atlantic Canada.”
He said with Cooke’s expertise, it should be able to stabilize Mowi’s operations and grow the investment.
“We’re one of the largest family investing companies in Atlantic Canada, and we plan to continue those investments,” he said.
Richardson said the company’s growth is due to its strong connection to New Brunswick and Eastern Charlotte. It started in 1985, producing 5000 salmon, and now operates in 16 countries with 15,000 employees worldwide.
“We have a strong desire to continue to grow and support good paying jobs back here at home that offer full-time year-round employment,” said Richardson.
Eastern Charlotte Mayor John Craig said whatever is good for Cooke is good for Eastern Charlotte.
“It’s good to see Cooke getting stronger and getting bigger,” said Craig.
He said the company will see continued expansion into farming of species other than its core species, Atlantic salmon. It currently offers around 26 species in aquaculture, seafood, and wild-capture fisheries, Richardson explained.
“Species diversification has been really important to the Cooke sustainability platform,” he said.
He said the company’s top priority is its people.
“We deeply value our people in Eastern Charlotte that have been working with us for many years and have supported the growth of our family company,” Richardson said.
