Risk & Business Magazine F.A. Peabody Insurance Fall 2015 | Page 6

True North Salmon
Refusing to Go With the Flow

BY: CHRISTOPHER ANDERSON CPCU, CIC, WCP, PRESIDENT, FA PEABODY INSURANCE

T

he world loves fresh Atlantic salmon
and there is no larger producer of this
aquatic delight than True North Salmon;
the processing, sales and marketing
division of Cooke Aquaculture, which
is based in Black’s Harbour, New
Brunswick. Cooke is a family-owned
firm now celebrating its 30th anniversary
with operations across the globe in
Canada, Chile, Spain, Scotland and the
United States. Established in Kelly Cove,
New Brunswick in 1985 with one farm
site, Cooke has grown to over 100 farms
on North America’s east coast, producing
115 metric tons of salmon annually.
The True North Salmon plant in
Machiasport, Maine processes salmon
fillets from Cooke’s Maine and New
Brunswick farms. The 30,000 square
foot facility was first opened in 1997.
In 2006 after Cooke purchased the
east coast operations of two major
multi-national aquaculture companies,
including the Machaisport plant, the
company committed to rebuilding the
industry in Maine into an economically
viable and environmentally responsible
industry. They restructured the farming
sector into bay management areas to
allow for crop rotation and fallowing and
made significant investments into new
equipment and technologies in Maine’s
hatcheries, farms and processing plant.

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Cooke Aquaculture
USA employs nearly
200 workers in Maine
with more than half
the workers at the
Machiasport True
North Salmon plant
processing salmon
for customers across
North America
including Harbor Fish
Market at Custom
House Wharf in
Portland, Maine.
They process and
sell more than 80
million pounds of
Atlantic salmon each
year. From hatchery to plate the process
involves quite a journey. Smolts from the
hatchery are placed in sea pens to mature
into adult fish. After approximately 18
months the salmon are transported to the
plant for processing. Each is eviscerated,
graded, weighed, inspected for quality
and kept chilled. They are then packed in
boxes for transportation as whole fish or
processed further to add value as fillets,
portions, skewers or marinated products.
Every part of the fish is used and nothing
is left to waste. The heads, scales and
carcass are ground up for fertilizer or for
pet food consumption.
The F. A. Peabody Company has enjoyed
working with True North Salmon for
over ten years helping them coordinate
loss control, claims and risk
management services for their
workers compensation
program. Safety is
a primary

RISK & BUSINESS MAGAZINETM FALL 2015

concern for True North Salmon and they
have an impressive team of professionals
implementing health and safety measures
to ensure their Maine workforce is at its
best. “Great reporting, pro-active and
personal service with everyone working
as a team,’ exclaims Bradley Lewis, Cooke
Aquaculture’s Director of Health and
Safety. Along with Human Resource
Manager Donna Brown, Risk Manager
Roger Young, Great Falls Insurance
Company’s Claims Manager Marti
Conti, and Underwriting Manager Shelly
Merrow, the loss time and incident rates
are way down. They genuinely care
about their workplace health and safety
and it shows.
Christopher Anderson, CPCU, CIC,
WCP, is the Agent for True North Salmon
specializing in workers’ compensation
programs for manufacturing, health care
and non-profit accounts.
Photo (Managers Left to Right):
Roger Young - Health and Safety
Coordinator, True North Salmon
Marti Conti - Claims Manager, Great Falls
Insurance Company
Shelly Merrow - Underwriting Manager,
Great Falls Insurance Company
Bradley Lewis - Health and Safety Manager,
True North Salmon/ Cooke Aquaculture