N.B. seafood company reaches $225M deal to acquire salmon farming operations

Cooke Inc., Atlantic Canada's largest salmon producer, is poised to significantly expand its operations through a $225 million deal to acquire salmon farming assets from Mowi Canada East. The proposed acquisition, pending final approval, encompasses Mowi's facilities in New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador, including freshwater hatcheries, sea farming sites, and two processing plants.

This strategic move aims to bolster Cooke's market position, with the company stating its goal is to stock ocean farms with larger fish. This would allow for reduced time at sea and faster growth, enabling quicker market entry. Joel Richardson, Cooke Inc.'s vice-president of public relations, explained that the company intends to stock ocean farms with larger fish to shorten their time at sea and accelerate growth for quicker market access.

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What we’re really aiming to do is to stock our ocean farms with larger fish so they spend less time at sea and they can grow more rapidly, get them to market quicker.

Upon completion, Cooke would control nearly 70 percent of the farmed Atlantic salmon produced in Atlantic Canada, up from its current share of over half. Richardson indicated plans for a substantial investment of approximately half a billion dollars in Atlantic Canada. This investment will target shore-based freshwater hatcheries and seaside vessels, incorporating advanced smart farming technology such as underwater cameras, monitors, and AI to track fish behavior in real time. The company also plans to implement its eco-friendly fish health technologies across the acquired Mowi sites.

Cooke anticipates retaining Mowi's approximately 250 employees, with no expected staffing changes. The deal is subject to due diligence and regulatory approvals. The acquisition comes as Mowi's parent company, based in Norway, reported record revenue of 5.73 billion euros last year.

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Atlantic Canada is a challenging place to operate because we have such unique marine conditions. We have unique weather. There’s often severe weather and storms that comes in to our shorelines and we have to manage that risk and prepare for it.