Cooke USA is closing a fish offloading and packaging operation located in Wanchese, North Carolina, USA
The facility is operated by Cooke subsidiary Wanchese Fish Company – a wild-caught fisheries company based in Suffolk, Virginia that Cooke captured in 2015, marking one of Cooke’s first forays into wild-capture fisheries.
A supplier of scallops, flounder, and other seafood products, Wanchese had 15 fishing vessels with marine processing capabilities when Cooke bought the company. Although founded in 1936, the company grew rapidly in the 1990s by using new technology to create Wanchese Scallop Medallions. Demand for the new product led the company to build a 300,000-square-foot facility at its current headquarters in Suffolk, according to the company’s website.
Today, the company has multiple operations, including Wanchese Argentina, and distributes seafood around the world. The company also has a larger scallop fleet supplying it: In 2022, Daniels Trawlers – which has an exclusive supply agreement with Wanchese – acquired five double-dredge scallop vessels from New Bedford, Massachusetts, USA-based that Blue Harvest.
The vessel sale occurred prior to Blue Harvest’s bankruptcy and the sale of its other vessels at a bankruptcy auction.
Cooke USA and Wanchese Fish Company Vice President of Public Relations Joel Richardson told SeafoodSource that the closure of the Wanchese-based facility will be effective March 29.
“We will provide support and services to our employees as part of our transition package,” Richardson said.
Another of Wanchese Fish Company’s subsidiaries – Wanchese Trawl and Supply – “will remain open and continue to serve clients” at the location, Richardson said. Shoreland Transport USA – another subsidiary of the Wanchese Fish Company – will also continue to operate a route to the outer banks.
Richardson did not provide further details on the number of employees who would be affected by the closing, but a story in the Costal Review reported that the facility has about 10 employees.
Photo courtesy of Wanchese Marine Industrial Park/Facebook
