Saint John-based Cooke Inc. has announced the purchase of another Central American shrimp producer. The company has acquired Farallon Aquaculture de Nicaragua S.A. which is headquartered in Leon, Nicaragua and employs 384 people. This announcement comes just after closing the purchase of Seajoy Seafood which operates in Honduras and Nicaragua and has been integrated into Cooke.

Clearwater Seafoods sets sail with surf clam deal
The Bedford, N.S. seafood company has signed a deal with 14 Canadian First Nations communities. Clearwater Seafoods has signed the 50-year partnership agreement a year after the Federal Government ended Clearwater’s 19-year monopoly on the Arctic surf clam fishery by awarding a multimillion-dollar fishing license to a corporation that promised to give 25% of the surf clam catch to local indigenous communities. The Federal Government subsequently cancelled the license agreement for reasons that remain unclear. The new agreement ensures First Nations communities will be involved in the future of the industry.

St. John’s coworking space shuts down after six months
After opening the doors of The Block less than six months ago, owners of the women’s coworking space in St. John’s, NL are closing their doors. In a Facebook post on March 17, owner Melanie Crocker stated engagement from the community has been too low for her to continue the business. Crocker plans to refocus energy on the company she owns right next door at 562 Water Street, Ruby Rose Beauty Bar.

Summerside coffee hut to become dairy bar in time for summer
The streetside cottage that housed Jo Mamma’s Coffee Hut in Summerside, P.E.I. has been flipped into a dairy bar. Angela and Blake Waite have redone the hut at 507 Grandville Street with a complete remodel of the building and are set to offer up dairy bar staples at Alex’s Ice Cream, which is scheduled to open by the end of the month.

Halifax company lands DND contract
Nova Graphene, the Halifax-based company who works with graphene — a revolutionary carbon allotrope — has been awarded a contract by Canada’s Department of National Defence’s Innovation for Defence Excellence and Security (IDEaS) program. In a March 6 announcement, the company says they will be developing a lightweight ballistic plating for personal protection, which will improve the mobility and comfort of the wearer while still offering a Level III protection rating.

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