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Cooke Inc.
Company typePrivate company
IndustryAquaculture
Founded1985; 39 years ago (1985) in Blacks Harbour, New Brunswick, Canada
Founders
  • Gifford Cooke
  • Glenn Cooke
  • Michael Cooke
Headquarters
Saint John, New Brunswick, New Brunswick
,
Canada
Key people
  • Glenn Cooke
    (CEO)
ProductsSeafood
RevenueIncrease CA$4 billion (annually)
Number of employees
nearly 13,000 (2023)
DivisionsCooke Aquaculture Inc.
Subsidiaries
Websitecookeseafood.com

Cooke Inc. (also known as Cooke Seafood or Cooke Aquaculture) is a Canadian multinational seafood company based in New Brunswick, in which it is headquartered in Saint John. Founded in 1985 as a family-ran salmon farm in Blacks Harbour, Cooke stands as the largest privately held seafood company globally.[1][2][3][4] The family-run company operates several vessels and processing facilities under multiple divisions, subsidiaries, and brand names internationally. Outside of its origin business in New Brunswick, the company has run salmon aquaculture operations in Maine and Washington of the U.S. division and Chile (Cooke Chile) of the South American division,[5] and Scotland of the European division.

Since its formation, Cooke Inc. has made approximately 100 acquisitions,[6] 14 of which, since 2016, being major acquisitions worth $2.5 billion. As of 2023, Cooke employs nearly 13,000 people, including 2,500 in Atlantic Canada. The company operates in 14 countries and utilizes 800 vessels along with 30 processing plants, while using their own hatcheries and feed plants. Cooke currently makes annual revenues of CA$4 billion.[3] Among the number of companies acquired by Cooke include Icicle Seafoods (2016), Omega Protein (2017),[7] and Tassal (2022).

History

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Cooke Inc. was established in Blacks Harbour, New Brunswick, Canada[3] 1985 by Gifford Cooke and his two sons Glenn and Michael,[8] whom of which started with farming 5,000 salmon in a pen.[9]

In 2015, Cooke expanded its operations in the United States by establishing Cooke Seafood USA Inc., while also acquiring the Wanchese Fish Company.[10] In late 2016, Cooke relocated their headquarters to uptown Saint John, New Brunswick. The company has a history with the city, which is where Glenn Cooke, the co-founder and CEO, lives and serves as one of the board of directors for the Saint John Port Authority.[11] They additionally acquired Uruguayan company Fripur S.A. and its Argentina-based subsidiary Grinfin, which they used to establish Cooke Uruguay.[12][13] On December 19, 2017, Cooke fully acquired American fish operations company Omega Protein for a total of CA$650 million,[14] or US$22/share.[15] In February 2019, Cooke acquired Latin American shrimp farming company Seajoy Seafood Corporation.[10]

In June 2022, Cooke expanded its office space into the Brunswick Square office tower.[16] In November 2022, Cooke made its largest acquisition, purchasing Australian salmon aquaculture company Tassal for $1.5 billion.[17][18]

On March 3, 2024, Cooke co-founder Gifford Cooke died at the age of 85.[19][20][21] His death was announced by Cooke the following day.[22] Later that month, Cooke was named one of the top employers for Atlantic Canada in 2024.[23]

In April 2024,[24] a 2021 False Claims Act lawsuit was unsealed in New York, accusing Cooke of illegally creating a U.S. shell company to cover up its Canadian ownership.[25] On November 14, 2024, the Conservation Law Foundation filed a lawsuit notice to Cooke under the Clean Water Act, alleging the company of "discharging effluent from its salmon pens in the Gulf of Maine and affecting other water uses, including fishing and lobstering". Cooke released a statement on the same day, denying the allegations.[26]

References

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  1. ^ Bissett, Kevin (12 December 2018). "Seafood giant Cooke Aquaculture joins Irvings, McCains as New Brunswick business royalty". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
  2. ^ Bissett, Kevin. "Fast-expanding seafood giant joins Irvings, McCains as N.B. business royalty - New Brunswick". Global News. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
  3. ^ a b c Mills, Don; Campbell, David (7 December 2023). "Podcast: Glenn Cooke discusses how Cooke Inc. has quietly become the largest privately owned seafood company in the world". Country 94. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
  4. ^ Bissett, Kevin (13 December 2018). "New Brunswick's newest empire". The Vancouver Sun. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
  5. ^ "Cooke Chile unveils branding for new EU certified organic 'Shima' salmon". SalmonBusiness. 17 April 2024. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
  6. ^ "Fast-expanding seafood giant joins Irvings, McCains as N.B. business royalty - BNN Bloomberg". BNN. The Canadian Press. 12 December 2018.
  7. ^ "Cooke Inc". seafood.media. seafood.media. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
  8. ^ Goossen, Rick. "Entrepreneurial Leaders Organization - Glenn Cooke". www.entrepreneurialleaders.com.
  9. ^ "Fast-expanding seafood giant joins Irvings, McCains as N.B. business royalty - New Brunswick". Global News.
  10. ^ a b "Here's a list of 20 years of Cooke acquisitions". IntraFish. 28 May 2019. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
  11. ^ Wright, Julia (19 September 2016). "Cooke Aquaculture relocating headquarters in uptown Saint John". CBC News. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
  12. ^ White, Cliff (14 December 2015). "Cooke closes Fripur, Grinfin acquisitions in Uruguay and Argentina". SeafoodSource. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
  13. ^ Awde, Savannah (14 March 2020). "Clearwater board entertaining offers after banner year in shellfish business". Telegraph-Journal. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
  14. ^ Trainor, Sarah (20 December 2017). "Cooke Aquaculture acquires Houston fishing company in $650M deal". CBC News. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
  15. ^ "Cooke Inc. acquires Omega Protein Corporation". Omega Protein. 19 December 2017. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
  16. ^ "Cooke Expands Global Head Office Operations in Saint John". Cooke Inc. 20 June 2022. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
  17. ^ "New Brunswick seafood giant Cooke Inc. acquires Australia company for $1.5B". CBC News.
  18. ^ "N.B.'s Cooke buys Australian firm". The Toronto Star. 22 November 2022. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
  19. ^ Mott, Sean (4 March 2024). "Co-founder of Cooke Aquaculture dies". CTV News. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
  20. ^ Perry, Brad (4 March 2024). "Cooke Aquaculture mourns loss of co-founder". Country 94. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
  21. ^ "Cooke Aquaculture co-founder and patriarch dies at 85". SaltWire. 4 March 2024. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
  22. ^ "Company Announcement: Death of Gifford Cooke". Cooke. 4 March 2024. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
  23. ^ "Cooke Aquaculture Named One of Atlantic Canada's Top Employers". Cooke Seafood. 26 March 2024. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
  24. ^ Cherry, Drew; Sapin, Rachel (2024-05-13). "Lawsuit alleges Cooke violated US foreign ownership law with Omega Protein acquisition". intrafish.com. Retrieved 2024-05-22.
  25. ^ "Unsealed federal lawsuit alleges Omega Protein skirted U.S. citizen ownership requirement". News From The States. Retrieved 2024-05-22.
  26. ^ Bates, Andrew (November 26, 2024). "Environmental group suing Cooke over Maine fish pens". Telegraph-Journal. Retrieved November 26, 2024.


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