Omega Protein

Last updated
Omega Protein Corporation
Company type Subsidiary (formerly Public)
NYSE:  OME (formerly)
IndustryNutritional products manufacturing
Founded1913
Headquarters Reedville, Virginia
Revenue$308.6 million USD (2014)
Number of employees
1150
Parent Cooke Inc.
Website www.omegaprotein.com

Omega Protein Corporation was a publicly traded US company, founded in 1913 as a fishing operation. As of 2015 it still operated a fishing fleet, and produced food ingredients, dietary supplements and animal feed. Their products included fish oil, fish meal, and proteins. [1] In the 2000s it expanded via acquisitions into ingredients produced from milk and plants. [1] On December 19, 2017, Cooke Inc. completed its acquisition of Omega Protein for $22.00 per share. [2]

Contents

Activities

Omega Protein's fishing fleet takes about 90% of the menhaden harvested in US waters; the extent of its harvest has been a subject of controversy. [3] In December 2012, in the face of the depletion of Atlantic menhaden, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission imposed a limit on Omega's operations, "capping the total annual commercial catch at 170,800 metric tons, about 80 percent of the average harvest from the last three years." [4]

Environmental record

For decades Omega Protein has been at the center of controversy over its role in depleting the menhaden populations in the East Coast and in the Chesapeake Bay. The company has been cited for 25 violations of Occupational Safety and Health Administration rules and numerous counts of violation of the Clean Water Act. In 2017 the SEC's subpoena for information on a subsidiary's compliance with probation terms and protection for whistle-blowers caused company stocks to plunge 20%. [5]

Industry promotion and certifications

In 2008 and 2009 Omega Protein received certification from Friend of the Sea, a project for the certification and promotion of seafood from sustainable fisheries and aquaculture. [6] [7] [8] Omega Protein's operations in both the Gulf and along the Atlantic have been regularly recertified since their first certification, with the Gulf of Mexico fishery most recently being recertified in the fall of 2014. [9]

Wisconsin Specialty Protein is a subsidiary of Omega Protein; its Reedsburg, WI facility received the Gold Medal Award in the Green Building category as an Associated Builders and Contractors of Wisconsin 2009 Project of Distinction. [10] and received the Annual Innovation Zone Award from the Dairy Business Innovation Center. [11]

2013 Clean Water Act violation

Omega Protein was charged with two counts of discharging pollutants and harmful amounts of oil from its Reedville, VA-based fishing vessels into U.S. waters in violation of the Clean Water Act for violations between May 2008 and December 2010. [12] The company was later sentenced for both violations in United States District Court in Norfolk, VA with 3 years of probation and financial penalties totaling $7.5 million. [13] The company has since paid the fines in full and conducted additional community service to clean regional waterways. [14]

2011 collision and Sinking

Omega Protein reported that late in the evening on May 18, 2011, an Omega Protein vessel, the F/V Sandy Point, was involved in a collision with a commercial cargo vessel, the Eurus London, in Mississippi waters approximately eight miles south of Gulfport, Mississippi near Ship Island. As a result of the collision, the F/V Sandy Point took on water and sank. At the time of the collision, 16 crew members were aboard Omega Protein’s vessel. Authorities accounted for 13 of Omega Protein’s crew members. A search and rescue effort was immediately deployed for the remaining three crew members. Joseph von Rosenberg, chairman and chief executive officer at the time of the incident, stated “We are assisting the United States Coast Guard and the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources in the search for our remaining crew members. Our main concern at this time is for our missing 3 crew members and their families.” [15] The three missing crew members’ bodies were found May 20 and 21. The cause for the collision remains unknown pending a lengthy investigation. [16]

2010 BP oil spill

The oil slick resulting from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill had an adverse effect on Omega Protein's ability to operate in the fishing grounds east of the Mississippi River Delta, near its Moss Point, Mississippi facility. Regulators closed areas there to commercial fishing. [17] The company developed additional contingency response plans to move its vessels from Morgan City, Louisiana farther west to its Abbeville and Cameron facilities should regulators close a greater portion of the fishing grounds. Following the spill, Omega Protein filed a claim with the Gulf Coast Claims Facility (GCCF) to be reimbursed for costs and lost profits resulting from the incident. [18] The GCCF administers funds paid by BP in connection with reimbursements for claims caused by the Deepwater Horizon disaster.

2014 explosion

On July 28, 2014, an explosion occurred at the company's fish processing plant in Moss Point, Mississippi. Four men were repairing a fish oil storage tank when the top blew off, killing one contract employee and injuring three others. The incident involved employees of a subcontractor who were working on two tanks. [19]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Menhaden</span> Informal name for some fishes (genera Brevoortia and Ethmidium)

Menhaden, also known as mossbunker and bunker and "the most important fish in the sea", are forage fish of the genera Brevoortia and Ethmidium, two genera of marine fish in the order Clupeiformes. Menhaden is a blend of poghaden and an Algonquian word akin to Narragansett munnawhatteaûg, derived from munnohquohteau, referring to their use of the fish as fertilizer. It is generally thought that Pilgrims were advised by Tisquantum to plant menhaden with their crops.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patagonian toothfish</span> Species of fish

The Patagonian toothfish, also known as Chilean sea bass, mero, icefish, and Antarctic cod, is a species of notothen found in cold waters between depths of 45 and 3,850 m in the southern Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans and Southern Ocean on seamounts and continental shelves around most Subantarctic islands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fishing industry</span> Economic branch

The fishing industry includes any industry or activity that takes, cultures, processes, preserves, stores, transports, markets or sells fish or fish products. It is defined by the Food and Agriculture Organization as including recreational, subsistence and commercial fishing, as well as the related harvesting, processing, and marketing sectors. The commercial activity is aimed at the delivery of fish and other seafood products for human consumption or as input factors in other industrial processes. The livelihood of over 500 million people in developing countries depends directly or indirectly on fisheries and aquaculture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marine Stewardship Council</span> Fishing certifier

The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) is a non-profit organisation which aims to set standards for sustainable fishing. Fisheries that wish to demonstrate they are well-managed and sustainable compared to the MSC's standards are assessed by a team of Conformity Assessment Bodies (CABs).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Krill fishery</span>

The krill fishery is the commercial fishery of krill, small shrimp-like marine animals that live in the oceans world-wide. The present estimate for the biomass of Antarctic krill is 379 million tonnes. The total global harvest of krill from all fisheries amounts to 150–200,000 tonnes annually, mainly Antarctic krill and North Pacific krill.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atlantic menhaden</span> Species of fish

The Atlantic menhaden is a North American species of fish in the herring family, Alosidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing</span>

Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU) is an issue around the world. Fishing industry observers believe IUU occurs in most fisheries, and accounts for up to 30% of total catches in some important fisheries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reedville, Virginia</span> Unincorporated community in Virginia, United States

Reedville is an unincorporated community in Northumberland County in the Northern Neck region of the U.S. state of Virginia. It is located at the eastern terminus of U.S. Route 360 east of Heathsville, at the head of Cockrell's Creek on the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay.

Sustainable seafood is seafood that is caught or farmed in ways that consider the long-term vitality of harvested species and the well-being of the oceans, as well as the livelihoods of fisheries-dependent communities. It was first promoted through the sustainable seafood movement which began in the 1990s. This operation highlights overfishing and environmentally destructive fishing methods. Through a number of initiatives, the movement has increased awareness and raised concerns over the way our seafood is obtained.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fishing industry in Canada</span>

Canada's fishing industry is a key contributor to the success of the Canadian economy. In 2018, Canada's fishing industry was worth $36.1 billion in fish and seafood products and employed approximately 300,000 people. Aquaculture, which is the farming of fish, shellfish, and aquatic plants in fresh or salt water, is the fastest growing food production activity in the world and a growing sector in Canada. In 2015, aquaculture generated over $1 billion in GDP and close to $3 billion in total economic activity. The Department Of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) oversees the management of Canada's aquatic resources and works with fishermen across the country to ensure the sustainability of Canada's oceans and in-land fisheries.

This page is a list of fishing topics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gulf menhaden</span> Species of fish

The Gulf menhaden is a small marine filter-feeding fish belonging to the family Alosidae. The range of Gulf menhaden encompasses the entirety of the Gulf of Mexico nearshore waters, with the exception of the extreme eastern Yucatan and western Cuba. Evidence from morphology and DNA analyses suggest that the Gulf menhaden is the Gulf of Mexico complement to the Atlantic menhaden. Both species support large commercial reduction fisheries, with Gulf menhaden supporting the second largest fishery, by weight, in the United States.

Aker BioMarine is a Norwegian fishing and biotech company providing krill products through a fully documented and secured catch and process chain. Based in Oslo, Aker BioMarine is part of the Aker Group and the company also created Eco-Harvesting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fishing industry in China</span>

China has one-fifth of the world's population and accounts for one-third of the world's reported fish production as well as two-thirds of the world's reported aquaculture production. It is also a major importer of seafood and the country's seafood market is estimated to grow to a market size worth US$53.5 Billion by 2027.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fishing industry in the United States</span>

As with other countries, the 200 nautical miles (370 km) exclusive economic zone (EEZ) off the coast of the United States gives its fishing industry special fishing rights. It covers 11.4 million square kilometres, which is the second largest zone in the world, exceeding the land area of the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fishing industry in Russia</span>

The coastline of the Russian Federation is the fourth longest in the world after the coastlines of Canada, Greenland, and Indonesia. The Russian fishing industry has an exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of 7.6 million km2 including access to twelve seas in three oceans, together with the landlocked Caspian Sea and more than two million rivers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fishing industry in Pakistan</span>

The fishing industry plays a significant part in the national economy of Pakistan. With a coastline of about 1,120 km, Pakistan has enough fishery resources that remain to be developed. Most of the population of the coastal areas of Sindh and Balochistan depends on fisheries for livelihood. It is also a major source of export earning.

A fish company is a company which specializes in the processing of fish products. Fish that are processed by a fish company include cod, hake, haddock, tuna, herring, mackerel, salmon and pollock.

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to fisheries:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fishing industry in Denmark</span>

The fishing industry in Denmark operates around the coastline, from western Jutland to Bornholm. While the overall contribution of the fisheries sector to the country's economy is only about 0.5 percent, Denmark is ranked fifth in the world in exports of fish and fish products. Approximately 20,000 Danish people are employed in fishing, aquaculture, and related industries.

References

  1. 1 2 Omega Protein Omega Protein 2015 10K Page accessed April 29, 2015
  2. ↑ "Cooke Inc. acquires Omega Protein Corporation | Omega Protein Corporation". Omega Protein Corporation. Retrieved 2018-02-03.
  3. ↑ Greenberg, Paul (15 December 2009). "A Fish Oil Story". The New York Times .
  4. ↑ Alison Fairbrother for The Bay Journal. March 31, 2013 Omega Protein makes good on threat to cut jobs; but it doesn’t have to
  5. ↑ Institutional Investor, “Swim With the Fishes”
  6. ↑ Friend of the Sea Sets Sustainable Standards The FishSite. Retrieved 20 Dec 2008.
  7. ↑ Friend of the Sea becomes Main Aquaculture Industry Standard for Sustainability in 2008 World Fishing Today.com. Retrieved 20 Dec 2008.
  8. ↑ Friend of the Sea becomes main aquaculture sustainability standard Aquahoy. Retrieved 20 Dec 2008.
  9. ↑ Friend of the Sea, “Omega Protein awarded Friend of the Sea certification for Sustainable Gulf Menhaden” October 13, 2014
  10. ↑ Wisconsin Business Development, “Wisconsin Specialty Protein, LLC”
  11. ↑ Isthmus, “Tera Johnson’s big idea: Tera’s Whey”
  12. ↑ Daily Press, “Omega Protein faces charges of dumping pollutants from fishing boats”
  13. ↑ U.S. Department of Justice, “Fish Processing Company, ‘Omega Protein, Inc.’ Sentenced for Environmental Crimes.” June 4, 2013.
  14. ↑ The Record, “Omega Protein is partner in cleanup of Cockrell’s Creek.” Oct. 3, 2013.
  15. ↑ Gulf Live, “Collision with ship resulted in sinking of Omega Protein's 163-foot Sandy Point”
  16. ↑ Professional Mariner, “Three from menhaden boat killed in collision with containership”
  17. ↑ The Huffington Post, “Fishing Restrictions Hurt Louisiana’s Meal and Oil Processors”
  18. ↑ Houston Business Journal, “Omega Protein files claim against BP for lost profits”
  19. ↑ USA Today, “Mississippi fish oil plant explosion kills 1, injures 3”
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