Cooke Aquaculture secures facility to process salmon

Cooke Aquaculture, which had previously processed salmon in Harbour Breton, has found a new facility to process the fish on Newfoundland's south coast. 

The Barry Group, owner of the Harbour Breton plant, opted to not renew Cooke's lease this past January.

Nell Halse, a Cooke Aquaculture spokesperson, said they have negotiated a long-term lease with Gray Processing Inc. for its new processing facility in Hermitage.   

Commissioning of the plant will begin immediately with a projected opening date for early June.  

Under the lease agreement, Cooke will operate and manage the plant under the name of Hermitage Processing Inc.  

As part of the agreement, Hermitage Processing Inc. will also process salmon for Gray Aqua Group Ltd., when their fish reach market size.

Cooke expects to start recruitment in the next few weeks.

The company said they will start operations with a workforce of approximately 20 to 30 people.

Cooke Aquaculture ceased processing at the Harbour Breton plant last fall, because some of its salmon had become infected. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency ordered the salmon to be destroyed.