Covington, WA—The Northwest Aquaculture Alliance today announced its “Lifetime Achievement Award” winners for 2023.

Sharing the honors this year are two Pacific Northwest aquaculture industry veterans from Cooke Aquaculture Pacific: Kevin J. Bright and Randy E. Hodgin.  In addition, NWAA named the CAP leadership team of Tom Glaspie, Brett Raemer, Doug Simms, and Nichole Robinson as “Aquaculture Champions”—a new award that recognizes those “unsung heroes who work tirelessly in caring for the fish, the environment, their colleagues, and the industry,” said NWAA President and Jamestown Seafood CEO,Jim Parsons.

Parsons, the former General Manager of Cooke Aquaculture Pacific, described the awardees as “some of the best and brightest in the aquaculture sector, exemplifying professionalism and integrity in the face of extraordinary challenges brought about when the state’s Department of Natural Resources terminated Cooke’s leases—leaving the state with no commercial net pens.” He added, “I have known this group of professionals for many years now and am pleased that the leadership of NWAA chose to award them all with its highest honor. To a person, the award is well-deserved.”

Bright, Permit Coordinator of Cooke Aquaculture Pacific (CAP), serves on the NWAA Board of Directors and has been involved in fisheries for more than 30 years. Bright also served on the Board of NWAA’s predecessor organization, the Washington Fish Growers Association.

Hodgin started his aquaculture career in 1986, where he worked in salmon culture for Stolt Sea Farm- Washington. From 1994 to 2018, he was Site Manager for Sea Farm of Washington and CAP, and eventually managed all of Cooke’s marine sites in Washington.

The Northwest Aquaculture Alliance is an advocacy organization that is committed to building a sustainable aquaculture industry in the Pacific Northwest and beyond.