Cooke Aquaculture cleans up beaches on Earth Day

April 26, 2024
By Aquaculture North America staff

Jonesport beach clean-up on Earth Day. (Photo: Susana DeFrank)

Atlantic salmon producer, Cooke Aquaculture USA, organized beach clean-ups in Washington County, Maine, to commemorate Earth Day 2024.

About 10 volunteers took five truckloads of debris that had washed up on the shore in Machiasport, while other volunteers gathered debris from the shore in nearby Jonesport.

Steven Hedlund, director of public affairs for Cooke Aquaculture USA, said Cooke’s fish health specialists, Jessica Lindsay and Susana DeFrank, led the crews in Machiasport and Jonesport respectively.

“Back-to-back storms on Jan. 10 and Jan. 13 brought significant flooding and damage to Maine’s coastal communities and infrastructure. Two more storms on March 23 and April 4 brought significant ice and snow to the state. It’s been a difficult winter,” said Hedlund. “Those storms churned up a lot of debris that washed up on the shore, and helping out with the clean-up is an important part of being a good neighbour and giving back to the communities in which we operate. Thank you to our volunteers for stepping up!”