Cooke Aquaculture - A Litany of Complaint Against This Fish Farm Company, Updated Nov 1 2020

NS, Cooke Aquaculture has come under fire for many reasons. They exemplify the problems with Norwegian-style fish farms that Kjersti Sandvik writes about in, Under the Surface, her new book, that I have been featuring in recent posts.

Here are some of the bad news Cooke stories, which started with using cypermethrin, a banned chemical, for 2 years before being caught:  http://www.southcoasttoday.ca/content/nova-scotia-mp-agrees-table-aquaculture-petition.

A quote: "Most of the industrial salmon farms in the Atlantic region are operated by New Brunswick-based multinational Cooke Aquaculture, whose massive fish farms in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Chile have had recurrent outbreaks of superchill, sea lice and deadly infectious salmon anemia, resulting in the forced slaughter of millions of market-ready salmon."

And: "Most recently, Cooke announced the abandonment of highly-touted plans to construct a large salmon processing plant in Shelburne, NS as part of a $25 million loan and grant arrangement with the Nova Scotia government. Premier Stephen McNeil is on record as demanding the return of any of the $18 million granted to Cooke to date, which is connected to their failure to honour the 2012 contract terms."

Here are other stories about Cooke Aquaculture: 

1. More troubles for Cooke Aqua: Product recall, "Do not buy" notice for farmed salmon, loan demands: http://www.southcoasttoday.ca/content/more-troubles-cooke-aqua-product-recall-do-not-buy-notice-farmed-salmon-loan-demands.

2. Super Chill suspected in massive Cooke Aqua fish kills:   : http://www.southcoasttoday.ca/content/super-chill-suspected-massive-cooke-aqua-fish-kills. 

3. Cooke Aqua sees continued disease in Chile operations:  http://www.southcoasttoday.ca/content/cooke-aqua-sees-continued-disease-chile-operations. 

4. Shelburne wants development funds in wake of Cooke Aqua abandoning Shelburne plans: http://www.southcoasttoday.ca/content/shelburne-wants-development-funds-wake-cooke-aqua-abandoning-shelburne-plans. 

5. Cooke Aqua a no-show for Shelburne processing plant: http://www.southcoasttoday.ca/content/cooke-aqua-no-show-shelburne-processing-plant.

6. McNeil government unclear about where Cooke Aqua $18M was spent: http://www.southcoasttoday.ca/content/mcneil-government-unclear-about-where-cooke-aqua-18m-was-spent. 

You would think that this litany of problems must be very rare, but in fact, it is common for fish farms companies. Go look at my News Bites post. Just skim the bold face text for a minute or two. I think you will be shocked. 370 bad news stories in less than one year: http://fishfarmnews.blogspot.ca/2015/07/key-document-fish-farm-news-bites.html. 

Just go look. I receive more than 25 global press fish farm/seafood industry newsletters every week. I am up on fish farm issues, as they happen, every day.

Oh, okay, some more bad news for Cooke Aquaculture. This is common in fish farms:

1. This is the charge about using the banned lice chemical cypermethrin:  http://www.southcoasttoday.ca/content/cooke-aquaculture-charged-environment-canada-illegal-pesticide-use. The headline is: Cooke Aquaculture charged by Environment Canada in illegal pesticide use November 2, 2011 - 13:47 — Timothy Gillespie. Subtitled: 33 serious charges filed against Glenn Cooke  & Cooke Aquaculture execs - $33 million fines and 99 years in prison possible - December 13 court date.

2. ISA in Atlantic Canada? See: http://www.southcoasttoday.ca/content/federal-quarantine-cooke-aquaculture-shelburne-nova-scotia. 

3. You want ISA? You got ISA: "Cooke salmon farms in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Chile have had many instances of sea lice epidemics and virulent outbreaks of infectious salmon anemia (ISA), resulting in the enforced slaughter of millions of market-ready salmon." See: http://www.southcoasttoday.ca/content/more-troubles-cooke-aqua-product-recall-do-not-buy-notice-farmed-salmon-loan-demands.

4. You want more on ISA at Cooke, in Chile? You got ISA at Cooke, in Chile: http://www.southcoasttoday.ca/content/cooke-aqua-sees-continued-disease-chile-operations.

And finally, at the same time Cooke isn't paying the government back in NS (only $1.5 million of the loan) it is expanding its Chilean operations in the middle of an algal bloom that has put 5,000 workers out of jobs and killed 2,000,000 salmon:
http://fishfarmnews.blogspot.ca/2015/07/key-document-fish-farm-news-bites.html. 


As in BoomBust at the same time. Playing one country off against another. A manipulative practice that happens all the time.

And what does Cooke say?


 

  (See: http://atlantic.ctvnews.ca/n-s-aquaculture-company-defends-practices-amid-allegations-from-residents-1.3311918.)

So on their blaming Mother Nature for their farm ripped up in WA, it should have just said, "Our nets broke up. We'll have to build better ones next time." But it didn't, it said it was the eclipse and high tides. Not good enough, Cooke. You need to be on land.

Update for Dec 18, 2017: WA government pulls Cooke's lease in Port Angeles for several reasons, including pollution: https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/environment/violations-prompt-washington-state-to-cancel-atlantic-salmon-farm-lease-at-port-angeles/.

Update for Dec 18, 2017: Cooke fined $8000 for water violations: http://www.intrafish.com/aquaculture/1398341/cooke-aquaculture-fined-over-repeated-water-quality-violations?utm_source=IntraFish+Aquaculture+Newsletter&utm_campaign=302bd505c2-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2017_12_18&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_ec4b681694-302bd505c2-244877629.

Update for Jan 11, 2018: Cooke's Jordan Bay, NS, farm breaks up in a storm. News indicates Cooke and officials 'spinning a yarn' about the damage:  http://www.southcoasttoday.ca/content/cooke-aquaculture-government-misleading-public-jordan-bay-salmon-farm-damage-says-activist.

Update for Jan 26, 2018: Blood Water Leak, Cooke, Scotland:  https://www.undercurrentnews.com/2018/01/26/cooke-scotland-plant-found-to-have-leaked-blood-water/?utm_source=Undercurrent+News+Alerts&utm_campaign=359f0d9dfa-Americas_briefing_Jan_26_2018&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_feb55e2e23-359f0d9dfa-92426209.

Update for Feb 16, 2018: 100% of Cypress Island, WA, Cooke escaped salmon test positive for PRV, the causative virus for HSMI:  http://wildfishconservancy.org/february-15th-prv-press-release/at_download/file.

Update for Oct 20, 2019: the fish abuse video at Cooke, Maine:  https://fishfarmnews.blogspot.com/2019/09/bad-news-bites-post-13.html.  There are many items in this post that cover this issue. These include: 209, 202, 176, 175, 162 (this is the most in-depth one, and you should read it) 160, 159, 158,157,156,154, 153, 150,149, 148, 147, 146, 145 and so on.

Updated for Oct 21, 2019: Cooke has to pay $156K fine for overstocking its pens, Maine: https://www.intrafish.com/aquaculture/1866347/cooke-aquaculture-pays-usd-156213-for-exceeding-biomass-limits-in-its-salmon-pens.

Updated Nov 1, 2020: Patagonia Drops Processor for Cooke, Trying to Evict Cooke from WA: https://www.intrafish.com/aquaculture/clothing-giant-patagonia-drops-processor-over-ties-to-cooke-leads-calls-to-evict-the-company-from-washington/2-1-899023?utm_source=IntraFish%20Editor%27s%20Picks%20newsletter&utm_campaign=27968e49aa-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_11_01_09_00&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_4a44318b44-27968e49aa-244948953.