Machiasport, Maine: Forty workers are once again processing salmon at the True North Salmon processing facility in Machiasport Maine. True North Salmon is the processing, sales and marketing division of Cooke Aquaculture USA.
Due to harvesting schedules that were affected by last winter’s extreme weather conditions, operations at this facility had been suspended for a number of months.
“There is an increased demand for fresh Atlantic salmon raised in Maine,” says company CEO Glenn Cooke. “We are committed to increasing our farming sites to meet production volume efficiencies and consumer demand. Our goal is to increase our sustainable salmon production and year round employment in rural Maine.”
“I applaud True North Salmon for its commitment to Maine and ensuring sustainability of the salmon industry,” said Governor Paul R. LePage. “These are good-paying jobs providing economic stability for Maine families.”
The 30,000 square foot salmon processing plant was first opened in 1997 but was closed in 2004 because of a decline in the salmon farming industry and a dramatic drop in production. When Cooke Aquaculture purchased the assets of two major multi-national aquaculture companies with Maine operations in 2006, the company made the commitment to work collaboratively with Government officials and the communities to rebuild the sector to be an economically viable and environmentally responsible industry. It lived up to that commitment by investing into the restructuring of the industry into bay management areas to allow for crop rotation and fallowing as well as into new equipment and technologies in its hatcheries, on its farms and in its processing plant. One new farm was approved in 2011 and additional farms are needed to raise production levels to keep the plant operating year round and to meet market demand.
True North Salmon supplies fresh Atlantic salmon to many customers in North America, including Harbor Fish Market at Custom House Wharf in Portland Maine, online retailer Fresh Direct and Celebrity Chef, Rick Moonen.
“True North Salmon is a family owned business that is committed to providing fabulous fresh Atlantic Salmon, while investing in sustainable development,” said Moonen. “That is why True North Salmon is on my menu and why I am pleased to be the chef ambassador for this great brand.”
Cooke Aquaculture is a vertically integrated family company with headquarters in
Blacks Harbour, New Brunswick Canada. It owns aquaculture operations in Canada, Chile, Spain and Scotland as well as significant operations in the US. Besides the processing facility in Machiasport, Cooke operates hatcheries and ocean farm sites in Maine.
Source: Cooke Aquaculture
