BLACKS HARBOUR, NB – March 6, 2020 – Cooke Aquaculture Inc., a family-owned seafood company based in Blacks Harbour, New Brunswick, has been recognized as a 2020 winner of the Canada’s Best Managed Companies Platinum Club designation. This is the local Atlantic Canadian company’s 15th consecutive year receiving the prestigious award and marks Cooke’s 35th anniversary.
“Ensuring the best care for our oceans and surrounding communities continues to be in the forefront of our sustainable growth strategy,” said Glenn Cooke, CEO of Cooke Aquaculture Inc. “Now more than ever, we believe that our relationship with the marine environment and supporting working waterfronts where both fisheries and aquaculture coexist is vital to our business and to producing top quality seafood. This is key to our mission and its because of the hard work and dedication of our people that we are successful.”
Every year, hundreds of entrepreneurial companies compete for this designation in a rigorous and independent process that evaluates the calibre of their management abilities and practices. Best Managed companies share commonalities that include a clear strategy and vision, investment in capability and commitment to talent.
“While Canada’s Best Managed Companies recognize uncertainty on the economic horizon, their focus hasn’t wavered and they haven’t been discouraged; they are relentlessly focused on growing their business to new heights and investing in the future.” said Kari Lockhart, Partner, Deloitte Private and Co-Leader, Canada’s Best Managed Companies program “The contribution these companies provide to Canada cannot be overstated. Every year, Best Managed winners are raising the bar of excellence in Canadian business.”
Now in its 27th year, Canada’s Best Managed Companies is one of the country’s leading business awards programs recognizing Canadian-owned and managed companies for innovative, world-class business practices. Winners are amongst the best-in-class of Canadian owned and managed companies with revenues over $15 million demonstrating strategy, capability, and commitment to achieve sustainable growth.
Participating in the Best Managed Companies program each year is just one of the ways Cooke Aquaculture ensures that the company is meeting best practices across their divisions.
Cooke Aquaculture is a vertically integrated, science-based marine farming corporation ‘from egg to plate’. The company is a world-leader in sustainable fish farming having invested heavily in Atlantic salmon breeding programs, fish feed production, eco-friendly fish health treatment technologies, and innovative sea farming equipment. In addition, Cooke Aquaculture has attained the 4-Star BAP (Best Aquaculture Practices) Certification mark, which attests that their farmed salmon meets the BAP standards on four separate links in the chain of production: sea sites, processing plants, feed mills and freshwater hatcheries.
“By taking part in third-party certification programs, our team is challenged to go above and beyond our regulatory requirements in all areas of our family of companies,” says Glenn Cooke “The health of our communities depends on the health of the ocean. For us, staying true to the ocean is how we stay true to ourselves, our community and our future. And that’s why we’re willing to do whatever it takes to ensure long-term social, economic and environmental sustainability.”
The 2020 winners of the Canada’s Best Managed Companies award will be honoured at the annual Canada’s Best Managed Companies gala in Toronto on April 1, 2020. The Best Managed program is sponsored by Deloitte Private, CIBC, Canadian Business, Smith School of Business, and TMX Group.
About Cooke Aquaculture Inc.
Cooke Aquaculture Inc. is a vertically integrated family company based in Blacks Harbour, New Brunswick, with salmon farming operations in Atlantic Canada, the United States, Chile and Scotland as well as seabass and seabream farming operations in Spain. The Cooke family of companies includes global aquaculture divisions including its wholly-owned subsidiary Cooke Aquaculture Inc. and Kelly Cove Salmon Ltd, as well as seafood and wild fishery divisions under Cooke Seafood USA, Inc., Icicle Seafoods, Inc., Wanchese Fish Company, Inc., Omega Protein Corporation, Cooke Uruguay S.A. and Seajoy Seafood Corporation, one of the largest premium shrimp farms in Latin America. Cooke has earned the #1 spot on the SeafoodSource list of Top 10 North American Seafood Suppliers. Cooke ships fresh, sustainable True North Seafood branded products to over 67 countries.
Cooke is committed to continuous improvement of quality and environmental performance. Certifications for the company’s farm-raised or wild-caught products include; Best Aquaculture Practices (4-Star: sea sites, processing plants, feed mills, and freshwater hatcheries), Alaska Responsible Fisheries Management, Label Rouge, Soil Association Organic, Friend of the Sea, Global G.A.P., British Retail Consortium among others.
About Canada’s Best Managed Companies
Canada’s Best Managed Companies continues to be the mark of excellence for Canadian-owned and managed companies with revenues over $25million. Every year since the launch of the program in 1993, hundreds of entrepreneurial companies have competed for this designation in a rigorous and independent process that evaluates their management skills and practices. The awards are granted on four levels: 1) Canada’s Best Managed Companies new winner (one of the new winners selected each year); 2) Canada’s Best Managed Companies winner (award recipients that have re-applied and successfully retained their Best Managed designation for two additional years, subject to annual operational and financial review); 3) Gold Standard winner (after three consecutive years of maintaining their Best Managed status, these winners have demonstrated their commitment to the program and successfully retained their award for 4-6 consecutive years); 4) Platinum Club member (winners that have maintained their Best Managed status for seven years or more). Program sponsors are Deloitte Private, CIBC, Canadian Business, Smith School of Business, and TMX Group. For more information, visit www.bestmanagedcompanies.ca
Contact:
Claire Ryan
Director of Public Relations
Cooke Aquaculture Inc.
40 Wellington Row, Saint John, NB, Canada E2L3H3
(506) 343-1319 mobile/ (506) 694-4928 office
claire.ryan@cookeaqua.com
Twitter: @cookeseafood
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cookeinc/
LinkedIn: https://twitter.com/cookeseafood
Website: www.cookeseafood.com
Spanish – Latin American Translation
Best Managed_Cooke Aqua_News Release_03.06.2020 (Spanish_LA)
Spanish – European Translation
Best Managed_Cooke Aqua_News Release_03.06.2020 (Spanish_EUR)