Saving Seafood

Omega Protein anticipates few COVID-19 impacts to Virginia’s menhaden season

May 7, 2020 — Despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic’s widespread impact on the U.S. seafood industry, Reedville, Virginia-based Omega Protein is expecting to have relatively few impacts to the menhaden fishery.

Omega Protein, a division of Blacks Harbour, New Brunswick, Canada-based Cooke Inc., is by-far the largest fisher of menhaden in the U.S. – catching tens of thousands of tons of the species each year. Primarily used for reduction purposes, the species has avoided the economic hardships of premium seafood species, according to Ben Landry, director of public affairs for Omega Protein.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Bioriginal producing BioTide sanitizers for health authorities and retailers

April 15, 2020 — The following was released by Bioriginal:

Bioriginal, a division of Omega Protein that is now part of the Cooke Inc. family of companies, has gained the CRA and Health Canada approval to produce three different sanitizing products including a sanitizing gel for hands, a surface sanitizer that replaces rubbing alcohol for medical uses, and a workplace sanitizer for equipment.

Working closely with the University of Saskatchewan, Bioriginal developed a sanitizer formula guided by the World Health Organization (WHO) which is now being distributed to local health authorities, with retailers following in the coming weeks. The products are available under the name BioTide as licensed products deemed safe, effective and of high quality.

“We knew we wanted to step up in the best way we could to help with the demand. We worked with our existing suppliers to source the raw materials necessary to develop the approved formula,” said Joe Vidal, President of Bioriginal Food & Science Corporation.

“Over the past two weeks, the team has moved heaven and earth to make this product happen in a way that meets all regulations in Canada. Health Canada and other federal agencies have been very helpful in expediting this,” said Professor Martin Reaney, a Ministry of Agriculture Strategic Research Program Chair at the University of Saskatchewan.

The Bioriginal manufacturing plant in Saskatoon underwent retrofits to prepare for production of the new substances. Some of the plant changes included a ventilated flammable proof processing area using skylights to provide illumination, pneumatic fillers, a new conveyor system using hydraulic power packs, the installation of true earth grounding to remove static electricity and explosion proof packaging. Bioriginal staff were trained on new safety protocols including procedures on safe handling of flammable liquids.

“The retrofits and renovations to the plant were something we were prepared to do in order to supply our health authorities during this pandemic,” added Vidal. “As a family company we are making every effort to support our local hospitals, clinics, and retail locations in our communities to ensure front line essential workers and the general public have access to certified safety products.”

For over 25 years, Saskatoon-based Bioriginal has been a global leader in delivering complete nutritional solutions to the food and nutraceutical industries, scientifically combining ingredients from all over the world. Bioriginal has facilities in Canada, United States, and Netherlands, developing and distributing a growing line of plant and dairy proteins, plant and marine oils and nutraceutical products to business customers worldwide.  The Cooke family of New Brunswick acquired Bioriginal in 2017 through the purchase of Omega Protein Corporation, a leading provider of specialty oils and specialty protein products.

Fish-oil firm keeps ‘sustainable’ label despite controversy

April 3, 2020 — A company that makes fish-oil supplements will keep its certification for sustainable fishing despite defiance of catch limits in the Chesapeake Bay.

The Marine Stewardship Council’s sustainability marker is prominently displayed on seafood packages in grocery stores. It means a company catches fish from a healthy population and leaves little impact on the food chain, among other factors.

Maintaining the designation is a victory for Omega Protein. But it stokes an ongoing debate over labels that boast environmental responsibility. The Chesapeake Bay Foundation said the development is “a serious black eye” for the certification.

Read the full story at the Associated Press

Omega Protein completes move of headquarters to Virginia

March 2, 2020 — Omega Protein officially announced on Monday, 2 March, that it completed moving its corporate headquarters from Houston, Texas, U.S.A., to Reedville, Virginia.

The company, a division of Canadian-based Cooke Inc., has a history in the Chesapeake Bay community dating back more than 100 years. As part of the effort to move corporate operations to Reedville, Omega Protein invested USD 1.3 million (EUR 1.2 million) in restoring the 1930s-era headquarters of an old fishing company in the region.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Virginia will cut its Chesapeake menhaden catch limit under bill passed by state lawmakers

March 2, 2020 — All seven of Omega Protein’s big blue purse-seine boats will head out on the chase for menhaden as usual this spring, but legislation passed by both the House of Delegates and state Senate could mean some will be tied up in their Reedville dock in the late summer and fall.

The General Assembly agreed to give up its authority to set quotas for menhaden and turn the job over to the Virginia Marine Fisheries Commission after the federal government imposed a moratorium. The final vote came Thursday.

That freeze came after Omega exceeded the multi-state Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s cap on its Chesapeake Bay catch last year.

But federal officials postponed implementing the moratorium until June — that is, a little after the usual May start of the fishing season, when Omega’s fleet mostly operates in the ocean — in order to give the General Assembly time to overturn its quota and authorize the state commission to adopt the multi-state group’s cap.

“This year will be a trial run for us,” Omega spokesman Ben Landry said.

Read the full story at The Daily Press

VIRGINIA: Last of Its Kind, Fishery Faces Reckoning in Chesapeake Bay

February 11, 2020 — For a guy who left school after 11th grade, George Ball figures he has the best-paying job available on this rural stretch of Chesapeake Bay shoreline.

He catches a fish called Atlantic menhaden, used to make fish oil pills and farm-raised salmon feed, and earns about $50,000 a season, as much money as some college graduates.

“There ain’t a whole lot of jobs around here for a person like myself, except for landscaping or something like that,” said Ball, who comes from a long line of black fishermen. “Starting over would be treacherous.”

He may have to, though.

Ball works for Omega Protein, a company facing increasing government restrictions amid criticism that it could be disrupting the Chesapeake Bay’s food chain. Last year, Omega Protein exceeded catch limits in the Chesapeake by more than 30%, prompting the Trump Administration to threaten a moratorium in Virginia waters.

The firm’s sustainability certification from the influential Marine Stewardship Council is now under review. And environmental groups, sport fishermen and some state lawmakers have grown louder in their calls to further restrict — if not shutter — the firm’s operations in the bay.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the New York Times

Menhaden, the most political fish in the Chesapeake Bay, might not be regulated by Virginia legislature anymore

January 29, 2020 — Virginia moved to keep fishing for menhaden in Chesapeake Bay, but a legislative compromise that got its first nods this week means the big boats from Reedville won’t catch quite as much.

The reason is that the most political fish of all would no longer be regulated by the General Assembly, where state Senate and House of Delegates panels say the legislature should turn the job over to the Virginia Marine Resources Commission, the panel that oversees every other fish.

Virginia faced a moratorium on the Bay menhaden fishery because Reedville-based Omega Proteins exceeded a cap on the Bay catch imposed by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission in 2017.

That cap, of 51,000 metric tons, is 41.5% below the old limit, which is the one written into the Code of Virginia.

Read the full story at The Daily Press

Omega Protein says it will cooperate on Chesapeake menhaden cap

December 20, 2019 — Omega Protein said it will cooperate with interstate menhaden managers, after the Department of Commerce set a June 17, 2020 deadline for Virginia to come into compliance with the Chesapeake Bay cap on its reduction fishery or face a moratorium.

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross formally concurred with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission finding of non-compliance, after the commission in October voted to insist the Reedville, Va.-based Omega Protein must adhere to the commission’s 51,000 metric tons bay cap.

Chris Oliver, the NOAA assistant administrator for fisheries, notified the commission Thursday of Ross’ decision.

“NOAA Fisheries also finds that this management measure is necessary for the conservation of the menhaden resource,” Oliver wrote in a letter to the commission. “The best available information shows that menhaden in the Chesapeake Bay are an important component of the overall health of the stock, and further that their role as forage for predator species in the Chesapeake Bay is critical to the marine environment.”

Omega officials, who faced off with critics for months before the commission vote, pledged Thursday to work toward solutions.

“Omega Protein will work with both the ASMFC and the Commonwealth of Virginia to lift the moratorium and bring the fishery back into compliance,” the company said in a prepared statement. “The company looks forward to working with the commission in the coming months as we move toward ecosystem-based measures, and will continue to support science-based fishery management and a healthy menhaden fishery.”

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Omega Protein says it will cooperate on Chesapeake menhaden cap

December 20, 2019 — Omega Protein said it will cooperate with interstate menhaden managers, after the Department of Commerce set a June 17, 2020 deadline for Virginia to come into compliance with the Chesapeake Bay cap on its reduction fishery or face a moratorium.

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross formally concurred with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission finding of non-compliance, after the commission in October voted to insist the Reedville, Va.-based Omega Protein must adhere to the commission’s 51,000 metric tons bay cap.

Chris Oliver, the NOAA assistant administrator for fisheries, notified the commission Thursday of Ross’ decision.

“NOAA Fisheries also finds that this management measure is necessary for the conservation of the menhaden resource,” Oliver wrote in a letter to the commission. “The best available information shows that menhaden in the Chesapeake Bay are an important component of the overall health of the stock, and further that their role as forage for predator species in the Chesapeake Bay is critical to the marine environment.”

Omega officials, who faced off with critics for months before the commission vote, pledged Thursday to work toward solutions.

“Omega Protein will work with both the ASMFC and the Commonwealth of Virginia to lift the moratorium and bring the fishery back into compliance,” the company said in a prepared statement. “The company looks forward to working with the commission in the coming months as we move toward ecosystem-based measures, and will continue to support science-based fishery management and a healthy menhaden fishery.”

Read the full story at National Fisherman

US commerce secretary Ross hands Virginia menhaden fishery its first moratorium

December 19, 2019 — Wilbur Ross, secretary of the US Department of Commerce, has agreed with Virginia governor Ralph Northam and placed the first-ever moratorium on the commonwealth’s menhaden fishery in the Chesapeake Bay — one of the two largest in the US — delivering a potentially nasty blow to Omega Protein.

But the moratorium doesn’t go into effect until June 17, 2020, giving the Houston, Texas-based division of Cooke Inc. plenty of time to work with the state to get into compliance.

The ruling follows Omega Protein’s admission in September of violating a federal cap set by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission in the area. The ASFMC cut the bay cap by 41% in 2017, in what it described as a precautionary measure, but without a finding of overfishing.

In October, during its week-long meeting in New Castle, New Hampshire, the ASMFC voted unanimously (15-0) to advance its finding of noncompliance against the state of Virginia to Ross.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

Read Omega Protein’s Statement Here

Read the letter from NOAA here