The Kelly Cove Salmon crew from McNutts Island is the 2010 recipient of the highest honour that Cooke Aquaculture awards to its salmon growers – the Platinum Scale Award.
Area Manager John Garland, and crew member Bill Jacklyn, accepted the award on Dec. 3 in St. Andrews. Other members of the McNutts’ team are Eugene Acker, Troy Nickerson, Darren Cotter, Earle Chetwynd and Mark Butler.
“This team did a great job in 2010,” said Michael Szemerda, Cooke Aquaculture’s VP of Saltwater Production.
Jeff Nickerson, the Nova Scotia Production Manager for Cooke Aquaculture, said the crew was thrilled with the honour. Nickerson points to 2008 when a hurricane hit southwest Nova Scotia just two days after the team stocked the McNutts Island site, as an example of their dedication.
“They worked day and night to make sure the farm was secure and they didn’t lose any fish and didn’t suffer any damage,” Nickerson said.
Cooke Aquaculture is headquartered in Blacks Harbour, NB, and has marine sites and land-based hatcheries throughout Atlantic Canada and Maine. In Nova Scotia, Cooke operates nine salmon farms, six of which are active. The company is working on expansion plans in the province that include additional marine sites, a processing plant and a new fish hatchery.
