Canada's Cooke Aquaculture acquires new plant

Cooke Aquaculture, a Canadian seafood company based in New Brunswick, will purchase Ocean Choice International's processing facility in Hermitage, Newfoundland.

It is hoped the agreement will be finalised by the end of June.

"The decision to sell the facility was made in light of the declining raw material base to support the Hermitage operation and we are pleased to reach an agreement with Cooke Aquaculture, a key player in the expanding aquaculture industry in the Coast of Bays region," said Sullivan, CEO of Ocean Choice International. The company's representatives will be meeting with affected stakeholders over the coming days.

Glenn Cooke, CEO of Cooke Aquaculture, said the purchase of the Hermitage facility is a strategic investment that will support the company's marine aquaculture operations on the south coast of Newfoundland. The facility will be used as a service depot for feed distribution and maintenance needs.

"This infrastructure purchase will contribute to the stability of our operations over the long-term. It is consistent with the overall plans for Newfoundland and Labrador that we announced in 2006 - to develop a successful business model for aquaculture for the province," he added.

It will be business as usual in Harbour Breton for the immediate future with salmon processing continuing at that site, according to Cooke. At this point, Cooke Aquaculture has yet to determine the employment opportunities that this purchase will provide to the Hermitage community.