Cooke Aquaculture, supported by the Government of Canada, is expanding its facilities and advancing its existing salmon breeding program. The investments will enable the company to expand its Oak Bay hatchery where it will develop and implement advanced genomics technology, building on its salmon breeding expertise. Government support will also help expand and modernize the company’s Johnson Lake hatchery facility, creating up to six new, highly skilled jobs.

Both expansion projects support innovation and productivity improvements in the aquaculture sector and are part of Cooke Aquaculture’s five-year plan to invest over $500 million in Atlantic Canada. The Government of Canada is providing contributions of more than $5.6 million to support these projects. 

“Our family purchased this hatchery 30 years ago, just a few years after establishing our first salmon farm in Kelly Cove. We invested in a hatchery to ensure we’d have a consistent and independent supply of eggs and smolt. As the company has expanded across the region, so has our need to grow this supply. This facility has continued to play a very important part in our operations and our ability to grow healthy seafood in a safe and sustainable manner,” Glenn Cooke, Cooke Aquaculture’s CEO, said.

The Government of Canada is making smart investments that create good, well-paying jobs in Canada. It is helping Atlantic Canadians develop and bring to market new products and services that lead to market success, help grow strategic sectors, or lead to the creation of research and commercialization partnerships. Support for these projects is one way the Government of Canada is working to achieve its Atlantic Growth Strategy outcome of long-term economic prosperity in the region.