Omega Protein Announces Response Plan for Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill

Omega Protein will relocate its nine Moss Point fishing vessels and three carry vessels to fishing grounds on the west side of the Mississippi River Delta.

30 Apr 2010 --- Omega Protein Corporation, the nation's leading producer of Omega-3 fish oil and specialty fish meal products, reported that it has implemented an Incident Response Plan for its Moss Point, Mississippi facility to minimize effects from the oil spill caused by the recent Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion. This plan is intended to minimize vessel downtime and business interruptions.

Despite initial information that indicated that the oil spill would not affect its operations, the Company currently believes that the oil slick temporarily could have an adverse effect on its ability to operate in the fishing grounds east of the Mississippi River Delta, near its Moss Point facility. 

Therefore, effective April 30, 2010, Omega Protein will relocate its nine Moss Point fishing vessels and three carry vessels to fishing grounds on the west side of the Mississippi River Delta.  This relocation is expected to last up to four weeks, but may change depending on future developments.

The docking and re-supply areas for the Moss Point fleet will be relocated from Moss Point to the Company-owned facility at Morgan City. The Company's Abbeville, Louisiana facility also will be available to provide support as needed.

The Company will offload fish from its Moss Point fleet with its carry vessels and process those fish in its usual manner at its Moss Point facility.  If access to the Moss Point facility should become restricted, then the Company's carry vessels will offload fish at the Company's Abbeville and Cameron, Louisiana locations, which are unaffected by the oil spill.  The Company cannot predict what effect this response plan or oil spill will have on its fish catch or processing efficiency.

The Company does not believe that the Gulf Coast menhaden fishery will be affected by any contamination from the oil spill, and is confident that its stringent quality control protocols will continue to ensure the high quality of its products.  Omega Protein pledges that regardless of the oil spill's impact, the high quality of its fish meal and fish oil products will not be compromised.