Cooke buys two more Scottish salmon farms

CANADA’S Cooke Aquaculture has increased its foothold in Scotland by buying a Shetland-based salmon producer.

Cooke, based in New Brunswick, acquired Thompson Bros Salmon, located on the island of Yell, in a share deal for an undisclosed sum. The move will add two new farms to Cooke Aquaculture Scotland’s current operations.

The new sites are located next to Cooke’s existing facilities at Unst and Yell - one of the company’s best performing areas.

‘We are very pleased to have been able to secure this operation,’ said Colin Blair, managing director of Cooke Aquaculture Scotland.

‘The Unst/Yell area on Shetland is a very attractive area to operate, with good staff and optimal fish health.’

Cooke CEO Glenn Cooke said: ‘After this transaction, Cooke will own all of the salmon farms in the area. That will allow us to coordinate management for the entire area and enhance our ability to meet a growing demand for our products. We expect the combined business will improve our performance, bringing our total harvest for Cooke Aquaculture Scotland to approximately 22,500 tonnes in 2016.’

Over the past 30 years Cooke and his family have built a company, with nearly a billion dollars in annual sales and 2,800 employees. Last year Cooke bought the salmon farmer Meridian, which has bases in Shetland, Orkney and the Scottish mainland. Cooke already runs operations in New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, Maine, Chile and Spain.