Farmed seabass. (Photo Credit: Culmarex YouTube)

Culmárex opens new processing facilities

The Spanish firm Culmárex Group has opened a new processing facility in Águilas on the south coast of Spain, which is one of the most modern and innovative in its sector.

The firm, a leader in the country for breeding and raising seabass and seabream, has more than doubled its production from 8,000 tonnes to 18,000 tonnes and its value from EUR 45 million to EUR 100 million since 2011, thanks to the strong commitment and investment from the owners of Cooke Aquaculture, having aquaculture operations in North America, South America and most recently in Scotland.

The opening ceremony was chaired by the Minister of Agriculture and Water of the Autonomous Community of the Region of Murcia, Antonio Cerdá; owner of Culmárex and CEO of the Canadian salmon farming company Cooke Aquaculture Glenn B. Cooke and CEO of the Culmárex Group Régis Philippe. Other regional authorities also attended the event, including the Mayor of the City of Aguilas, Bartolomé Hernández.

"In 2011, we believed Culmárex and Cooke Aquaculture shared similar aims and principles and we were right.” Glenn Cooke told guests at the event.

And he added: “We both take our responsibility for the management of the company, the environment and the welfare of our employees seriously. In just three years, Culmárex has grown from growing 330 direct jobs to 500 jobs along with more than three thousand indirect jobs along the Spanish Mediterranean coast.”

Cooke also expressed pleasure that the Canadian Government has negotiated a free trade agreement with the EU and that the European Union is urging its members to support the growth of aquaculture.

Firm sources informed that an investment of EUR 1.5 million expanded the Aguilas plant facility by 2,000 m2, making it the largest fish packing plant of sea bass and sea bream in the Mediterranean Region.

The installation of four Marel state-of-the-art machines and two robots to pallet the Culmárex products can now be in the market overnight thanks to this automated plant and the addition of new loading docks.

The Minister of Agriculture thanked the Cooke family and Culmárex for its investment in the Murcia region. He recognized aquaculture as an important economic and social solution for the region and committed to working with Culmárex and the authorities to further develop the sector in Spain.

For his part, Culmárex Group CEO highlighted the company’s strong commitment to innovation as well as its strong social and environmental commitment to the community and the territories in which it operates.

Cooke Aquaculture informed that on 17 July, Culmárex will host a similar event at Aquicultura Balear, the company’s hatchery in Palma de Mallorca, Isles Baleares. Following an investment of EUR 6.5 million, the facility is now the largest hatchery in Spain and one of the biggest in the Mediterranean Sea.

As a result, the company’s annual capacity will grow from 24 million juveniles to more than 45 million juvenile sea bream and sea bass.
 

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Address:	Don Carnal 13 Pol.Ind. El Labradorcico
City:	Aguilas
State/ZIP:	Murcia (30889)
Country:	Spain
Phone:	+34 968 493 449
Fax:	+34 968 447 221
E-Mail:	[email protected]
Skype:	https://www.instagram.com/cookeespana/
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