New Orkney salmon farm approval confirms aquaculture is planned sustainably

  Kirkwall, Scotland, UK – September 8, 2022 – Cooke Aquaculture Scotland Ltd. welcomes the Orkney Islands Council Planning Committee’s decision today approving the creation of a six cage salmon farming site located offshore of East Moclett, Papa Westray, in the North Sound. “We appreciate that the Planning Committee was guided by and accepted the thorough technical and scientific reviews …

Stromness Play Park Donation

Stromness/Orkney receives children’s play park donation! Sara Duncan and Robert Peterson (right of photo) from our community donations team met Kris and Ruby from the South End play park project to hand over a donation towards this exciting renovation. The team will be following the ongoing work and look forward to seeing the finished park, which will be enjoyed by …

Donation to Orkney Samaritans

Cooke Aquaculture were pleased to make a donation to the Orkney Samaritans. Pictured left to right are Diane Hay, Krystal Flett, Vicci Laird & Sara Duncan from our Orkney Office, along with Gavin Cullen from the Samaritans organisation. If you’re going through a difficult time and would like to talk to someone, talk to the Samaritans.        

North Isles Netball Team

We’re proud to be able to sponsor the newly formed North Isles Netball team. Players from both Unst and Yell recently combined forces to compete in the Shetland Junior Netball Development League and the donation will enable them to design and purchase their own strip. The team’s coach, Linda Thomson (far left) and our area manager in Shetland, David Brown, …

Stromness Sailing Club Ceilidh

Ceilidh & Supper Stromness Town Hall Saturday 2nd March at 7pm Come sail with us to the sound of, The Pie and Jam Dance Band Doors open at 7 pm (get your raffles!!!) for a 7.30 pm start. The ceilidh will stop at 12 midnight, doors close at 1 am. Tickets are £12.

Cooke Aquaculture Donation to Shetland Youth Clubs

Staff at the 2018 Shetland Xmas party raised the magnificent sum of £2009 for local good causes. That amount was then doubled by Cooke Aquaculture and donated to 4 youth groups at Westside, Yell & Unst. Pictured at the presentation are members from the youth clubs, Dave Bugh our Operations Manager in Shetland, and Michelle Johnson, Technical Manager. A big …

Mid Yell School Winter Clothing Donation

It can get chilly at this time of year, so we were pleased to be able to make a donation to Mid Yell school. The donation covered the cost of clothing for the children to wear when they’re taking part in outdoor activities. Pictured below is our Shetland Area Manager, David Brown & Technical Manager, Michelle Johnson, who went along …

Stirling University Aquaculture Students Visit Furnace Hatchery

Andy Young, Site Manager at Furnace, recently hosted a visit from Msc students studying Aquaculture at Stirling University. The students were given a complete tour of the facility by Andy, which they all found very interesting For those interested, the Aquaculture Students’ Association are holding a careers day at the University of Stirling on 20th May 2019. This offers a …

Santa gets a lift to Uyeasound Xmas Party

It’s that time of year that a certain gentleman is rather busy. Cooke Aquaculture were delighted to be able to help Santa get to the children’s party in Uyeasound, Shetland on board their vessel “Sea Sapphire”.  

Scottish Cabinet Secretary Ewing visits Orkney to see progress of new high-energy Cooke Aquaculture site

(Kirkwall in Orkney): On Thursday, September 27th, the Scottish Government’s Cabinet Secretary for Rural Economy, Fergus Ewing, visited Cooke Aquaculture’s Orkney headquarters in Kirkwall to hear about progress made at the company’s new high-energy salmon farming site at East Skelwick, North Sound, Westray. The development of high-energy sites forms an important part of sustainably growing the Scottish aquaculture industry, allowing …

National First for John

John McCulloch from Unst has become the first person in Britain to complete a ground-breaking professional development programme in Aquaculture Management developed by the NAFC Marine Centre UHI.   John has completed the Technical Apprenticeship in Aquaculture Management just over 18 months after it was launched, whilst working as assistant site manager at Cooke Aquaculture Shetland’s Quoys salmon hatchery in …

Cooke Donation to Walls & District Agricultural Show

Cooke employees, Dennis and Katrine Johnson attended the Walls & District Agricultural Show recently, and viewed the new Barbecue equipment, purchased with the assistance of a Donation from Cooke Aquaculture. The new Barbecue equipment, included a frame, serving hatch and most importantly waterproof covers! In the picture, left to right is Dennis and Katrine Johnson with Walls & District Agricultural …

Simmer Dim Fishing Competition Shetland 2018

The Simmer Dim Fishing Competition was started 15 years ago to raise money for Cancer Support Charities. It involves an all-night fishing competition as near to the Summer Solstice as possible, taking advantage of Shetland’s 24 hour daylight at that time. This Annual competition is a fun event which this year attracted fishermen from the UK, Canada, Norway, Denmark & …

Shetland Playgroup Donations

Along with donations from our employees & suppliers, Cooke Aquaculture were  pleased to be able to make payments to four Shetland Playgroups. These were: Aith & Bixter Toddler Group Walls & Distict Toddler Group Yell Peerie Breeks GroupUnst under 5’s Group Pictured (left to right) Claire Tulloch from the Aith District Playgroup, Keith Leslie our Hoganess  Site Manager & Jacqueline Brown from the Walls Playgroup.

Shetland Junior Netball Group Sponsorship

Vicki Smith, our Environmental Officer from Shetland was delighted to issue the Shetland Junior Netball Group with their Jumpers, donated by Cooke Aquaculture. In total, there are 66 members from all over Shetland making up three squads who represent Shetland nationally. Vicki, is pictured below with the Under 13’s. Good luck girls!

Norwegian Aquaculture Students visit Shetland Sites

A group of Norwegian Aquaculture students visited Shetland recently to look at the aquaculture industry and it’s similarities and differences within the industry. Skretting Fish Feeds Sales Manager, Gordon Reid, had planned a very interesting schedule for the group, which included a visit to Unst. The group visited one of our seawater sites and our Quoy’s hatchery, meeting our very …

Highland Fling

Congratulations go to Chris Webb, our Environmental and Development Manager who recently completed a “Highland Fling”. This one isn’t a vigororous Scottish Traditional Dance but an 85 Kilometre Ultra Marathon which takes in the first half of the West Highland Way. As if running this distance isn’t enough, it also takes in Conic Hill and a total ascent of 2500 …

Orkney Ceilidh Weekend 2018

Cooke Aquaculture Scotland were pleased to be able to support the Orkney traditional dance association at their annual Ceilidh weekend in April. The association aims to promote, revive, and preserve traditional dance throughout Orkney. Every year, a programme of events is held on Orkney over three days and is attended by locals and dancers from all over the world. Local …

Cooke Aquaculture Scotland Launches its new Catamaran

Cooke’s brand new catamaran, the VAILA MARIE was launched recently at Scalloway, Shetland. The 14m x 7m vessel was built at Malakoff’s new boatbuilding facility in Lerwick, with a “sister” vessel currently under construction. The Vaila Marie will be operating on our Walls and Aith sites and will be used for general farm duties, along with heavier mooring work. David …