Omega Protein

Omega Protein Corporation

Company type	Public
Traded as	NYSE: OME
Industry	Fish products
Founded	1913
Headquarters	Houston, Texas
Revenue	$244 million USD(2013)
Number of employees	1150
Website	www.omegaproteininc.com

Omega Protein Corporation is an international nutritional product corporation headquartered in Houston, Texas. It is a leading integrated provider of specialty oils, essential fatty acids and specialty protein products. Omega Protein is North America's largest manufacturer of protein-rich specialty fish meal and organic fish solubles.

Omega Protein’s roots date back to 1913 founded in Reedville, Virginia. In the fall of 2014, the company released its inaugural Corporate Social Responsibility Report, formally articulating the company’s existing social and environmental efforts and future aspirations . Throughout their 100 years, Omega Protein has delivered quality ingredients that improve the nutritional integrity of food, supplements and animal feed to allow consumers and their families to live healthier lives with better nutrition.

Origin

Menhaden fishing is one of America's oldest commercial industries, dating back to the 1800s. In the early years of American history, menhaden fishing and processing was a very common sight along the Atlantic coastline. In 1850, D.D. Wells & Son founded the first factory for catching and processing menhaden . In 1878 John and Thomas Haynie began their first fish processing operation on their family’s property in Reedville, Virginia. The brothers would sell the processed menhaden fish oil, which was used for manufacturing and as a source of fuel. During the 1920s, the oil shifted markets due to the emergence of kerosene and petroleum as the dominant fuel sources. Through a series of mergers and name changes, the company that the Haynies founded in 1878 eventually became Omega Protein.

Expansion

• 1903- John A. Haynie Company becomes Haynie, Snow and Company
• 1913- Haynie, Snow and Company becomes Reedville Oil & Guano Company
• 1966- Expansion into the Gulf o fMexico with the opening of processing facilities in LA & MS
• 1968- Reedville Oil & Guano Company renames to Haynie Products, Inc.
• 1970- Haynie Products, Inc. becomes Zapata Haynie Corporation after merger with Zapata Oil
• 1994- Zapata Haynie Corporation renames to Zapata Protein
• 1997- Zapata Protein goes public
• 2002- Zapata Protein renames to Omega Protein
• 2010- Omega Protein acquires Cyvex Nutrition, Inc., a dietary supplement supplier
• 2011- Omega Protein acquires InCon Processing, L.L.C., a processor that uses molecular distillation technology

Operations

Headquarters- Houston, Texas

Offices- Irvine, CA; Madison, WI; Saskatoon, Canada; Den Bommel, the Netherlands

Warehouses- Avondale, LA; Guntersville, AL; East Dubuque, IL; St. Louis, MO

Processing- Abbeville, LA; Moss Point, MS; Reedville, VA; Batavia, IL; Reedsburg, WI

Research- Omega Protein Health & Science Center in Reedville, VA and OmegaPure Technology and Innovation Center (OPTIC) in Houston, TX

Harvesting

Technique

1. Spotter Planes- fly along the coast to identify schools of menhaden. Then the plane radios findings to the factory ship.
2. Factory Ship- voyages over to the school of fish spotted by the plane. Launches two smaller vessels to collect the catch.
3. Fishing vessels- the two smaller ships begin encircling the school of fish while dragging a purse seine.
4. The factory Ship approaches the two vessels with the collected purse seine and begins taking on board all the fish within the net.
5. The vessels return to the dock where the caught fish are unloaded for processing.
6. A Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) has been installed on 43 vessels in 4 different locations to monitor, survey and transmit data from vessels to shore.

Atlantic

The Atlantic menhaden are harvested along the coast of Virginia and parts of North Carolina. The menhaden reduction fishery is the largest fishery on the East Coast. The menhaden are managed by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC), which is an interstate agreement with the 15 Atlantic Coast states.

Gulf

The Gulf menhaden are harvested along the coast of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and parts of Florida. The Gulf menhaden have a shorter life span than their Atlantic counterparts. The menhaden are managed by the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission (GSMFC), which is a compact between the five Gulf states.

Product

Fish Meal

• Special Select
• Natural Nautic
• SeaLac

Fish Oil

• Virginia Prime
• OmegaEquis
• SeaCide
• OmegaPure
• Crude Oil

Fish Soluble

• OmegaGrow
• OmegaGrow Plus
• Neptune

Environmental Record

Awards

In 2008 Omega Protein receives certification from Friend of the Sea a non-profit, non-government organization that aims at conserving marine habitat. The certification provided by the organization is conducted through an onsite monitoring project to approve sustainability in fisheries and aquaculture. In 2009 Omega Protein received the Friend of the Sea Award for sustainability. The award is given to those whose target stocks cannot be considered overexploited, the company's fishing methods must not impact the seabed, and the company's fishing methods must not discard more than 8% in weight of their catch.

Issues

BP Oil Spill

The oil slick had an adverse effect on the Company’s ability to operate in the fishing grounds east of the Mississippi River Delta, near its Moss Point, Mississippi facility. Regulators closed areas to commercial fishing. 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. On October 20, 2010 OMega Protein announced that it has to date received a total of $18.7 million in payments, net of fees, from the Gulf Coast Claims Facility (“GCCF”). The GCCF is administering funds paid by BP in connection with reimbursements for claims caused by the Deepwater Horizon disaster. .

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, 16crew members were aboard Omega Protein’s vessel. Authorities have accounted for 13 of Omega Protein’s crew members. A search and rescue effort was immediately deployed for the remaining 3 crew members. Mr. Joe von Rosenberg, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer at the time of the incident, stated “We are assisting the U.S. 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.”

External links

• Official website