Cooke marks a decade in the UK

The Cooke Seafood group is this month celebrating ten years of aquaculture in the UK with a change of name.

The company said it is very proud that the business is now a decade old and of what has been achieved.

Cooke Aquaculture Scotland was established in 2014 as part of the global company’s strategy to achieve success through acquisitions and organic growth to meet an increasing market demand for healthy, fresh seafood. The company will from now on adopt the shorter name of “Cooke Scotland”.

Colin Blair, managing director of Cooke Scotland, said: “Ten years this month, the Cooke family acquired the successful seawater and freshwater assets in Orkney, Shetland and UK mainland before building on its Scottish operations.

“I take great pride in what we have accomplished as one of the leading producers of world-renowned Scottish salmon and the largest producer of organic Scottish salmon.”

In the past decade, Cooke Scotland has tripled its organic production and increased general production and supply to its loyal customers. The company has harvested and shipped over 52 million fresh farmed salmon to more than 16 different countries worldwide and continues to grow responsibly and sustainably by maintaining consistently high standards.

The company said: “As one of the largest employers in the Scottish Northern Isles, and with over 380 staff who dedicate the time, care and resources to rearing the finest Scottish salmon, the company works hard to generate shared prosperity by playing an intrinsic part of the communities in which its employees live and work.

“Since 2018, Cooke Scotland has donated over £700,000 through the Cooke Community Benefit Fund to a variety of local-led events, activities, groups and community projects throughout Scotland and the Northern Isles, and in the north of England.

“Cooke’s local investment has had particularly positive real-life impacts in the Northern Isles including supporting local businesses and jobs, maintaining local populations, sustaining the uptake of local schools, ferries and shops; and created ongoing operational spending with local businesses.”

Cooke said a key milestone was the establishment of Northeast Nutrition Scotland in Invergordon to locally produce feed in-house for Cooke’s UK operations.

“Cooke Scotland has also bolstered its workforce recruitment and is having great success with staff training and development – including effective results in the areas of husbandry and fish welfare,” it adds.