Saving Seafood

  • Home
  • News
    • Alerts
    • Conservation & Environment
    • Council Actions
    • Economic Impact
    • Enforcement
    • International & Trade
    • Law
    • Management & Regulation
    • Regulations
    • Nutrition
    • Opinion
    • Other News
    • Safety
    • Science
    • State and Local
  • News by Region
    • New England
    • Mid-Atlantic
    • South Atlantic
    • Gulf of Mexico
    • Pacific
    • North Pacific
    • Western Pacific
  • About
    • Contact Us
    • Fishing Terms Glossary

Latest Video from Omega Protein Shows Company’s Impact on Local Fishing Communities

April 12, 2021 — Omega Protein highlighted its link to local fishing communities through a video featuring stories of employees and members of Virginia’s Northern Neck and in the Gulf of Mexico communities.

The video, Omega Protein: Cornerstone of our Communities, can be found on YouTube here.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

New Video Shows Link Between Omega Protein and Local Fishing Communities

April 8, 2021 — The following was released by Omega Protein:

For over 100 years, Omega Protein has been more than just an employer; it’s been an integral part of our fishing communities on Virginia’s Northern Neck and in the Gulf of Mexico. The Company’s menhaden fisheries have provided dependable, well-paying jobs that have allowed generations of workers to build better lives for themselves and their families.

Some of those employees and members of the Reedville, Virginia community have come together to tell their story in our latest video, Omega Protein: Cornerstone of our Communities.

“My ancestors from my great-great grandfather to my grandfather, my father all worked here at Omega, so Omega has been part of our family for all five generations,” said P.J. Haynie III, a nationally recognized farmer and businessman in the Northern Neck. “50 years ago, a lot of young African American weren’t allowed to go off to college, weren’t allowed to get into the military, so they relied on a local source of work.”

P.J.’s father, businessman Philip Haynie II, also shares how working in the menhaden fishery helped him pay his way through college, and provide his family with new opportunities.

“While I was in college, they afforded me the opportunity to be employed in the summers,” said Mr. Haynie.  “Omega allowed me to pay my tuition and take care of myself, which took a lot of the burden and responsibility off of my parents, because if they hadn’t had done that then they would have had to made the decision, which one of their three children would have to drop out.”

Omega Protein is the single largest private employer in Northumberland County, Virginia. But it’s not just our employees who consider the fishery to be important. The Company has an established history of purchasing from local vendors and using local contractors whenever available, making sure to put as much money back into the community as possible.

“They do try to stay local. This factory has been essential, really for the whole community,” said Benjamin Paul Jones Jr., owner of Waller Oil Co. “My company would struggle without it. These guys that work here own homes around here, so I sell them heating oil. I sell gasoline up at my plant, so they buy gasoline to come back and forth to work. So if something happened to Omega, it would be a hardship.”

As part of our commitment to our communities, Omega Protein also regularly gives back, supporting the local civic organizations that make places like Reedville, Virginia, Moss Point, Mississippi, and Abbeville, Louisiana so vibrant. In the video, community members share how that commitment impacts them.

“There’s lots and lots of people who really depend on the fact that Omega will buy uniforms for a team, or for us they pay for the lion’s share of the fireworks on the Fourth of July,” said Lee Langston-Harrison, Director of the Reedville Fishermen’s Museum.  “I’m just one of many, many people. And it’s schools, and it’s community services, it’s the fire department, it’s the EMTs.”

About Omega Protein
Omega Protein Corporation is a century old nutritional product company that develops, produces and delivers healthy products throughout the world to improve the nutritional integrity of foods, dietary supplements and animal feeds. Omega Protein’s mission is to help people lead healthier lives with better nutrition through sustainably sourced ingredients such as highly refined specialty oils, specialty proteins products and nutraceuticals. Omega Protein is a division of Cooke Inc., a family owned fishery company based in New Brunswick, Canada.

The Company operates seven manufacturing facilities located in the United States, Canada and Europe. The Company also has a long-term supply contract with Ocean Harvesters, which owns 30 vessels which harvest menhaden, a fish abundantly found off the coasts of the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico. The Company’s website is www.omegaprotein.com.

All fishing vessels formerly owned by Omega Protein are owned and operated by Ocean Harvesters, an independent company.

Recent Headlines

  • New federal red snapper regulations could allow bigger limits for some states, smaller for others
  • Sharing the Tools of Sustainable Fishery Management
  • MASSAHCUSETTS: Head of NOAA Fisheries visits New Bedford, impact of offshore wind development on fishing a concern
  • The Inflation Reduction Act Offers Hope for Fishery Friendly Climate Action
  • ASMFC 2022 Summer Meeting Press Release, Summaries, and Motions Now Available
  • Below-average Gulf of Mexico ‘dead zone’ measured
  • MAINE: Finfish aquaculture ordinance drafted
  • Proposed federal speed rule for vessels could further protect endangered right whales

Most Popular Topics

Alaska Aquaculture ASMFC Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission California China Climate change Coronavirus COVID-19 Donald Trump groundfish Gulf of Maine Gulf of Mexico Illegal fishing IUU fishing Lobster Maine Massachusetts Mid-Atlantic National Marine Fisheries Service National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NEFMC New Bedford New England New England Fishery Management Council New Jersey New York NMFS NOAA NOAA Fisheries North Atlantic right whales North Carolina North Pacific offshore energy Offshore wind Pacific right whales Salmon Scallops South Atlantic Tuna Western Pacific Whales wind energy Wind Farms

Daily Updates & Alerts

Enter your email address to receive daily updates and alerts:
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
Tweets by @savingseafood

Copyright © 2022 Saving Seafood · WordPress Web Design by Jessee Productions