Free News January 13, 2006

Steve Walton
OceanBoy's New President

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On November 17, 2005, at the 7^th International Shrimp Culture Symposium and Exhibition in Panama, I interviewed Steve Walton, the new president of OceanBoy Farms, an inland, organic shrimp farm in Florida, USA. In 2005, OceanBoy produced 700,000 pounds of head-off shrimp; in 2006, it expects to produce 1.8 million pounds.

Shrimp News: Hi Steve, tell me a little about your background and your new job at OceanBoy.

Steve Walton: I've worked in consumer products for twenty years with companies like Unilever and, most recently, ConAgra. At ConAgra, I was vice president and general manager of the Wesson/Peter Pan Food Company. You'll find many of the products that I've marketed in your own home: "Lysol", "Vaseline", "Ponds", "Q-Tips", just to name a few.

Over the last several years, OceanBoy has developed a scientific system for growing marine shrimp in low salinity, inland waters. I was brought in to commercialize that science with some value-added products, specifically, to develop and market the OceanBoy brand.

Shrimp News: How do you plan to do that?

Steve Walton: By providing what the consumer wants: taste, nutrition and an environmentally friendly product--supported by fact-based selling. By fact-based selling, I mean telling our story. We have a great story and when we tell it, people want to buy our product. The idea is to create awareness and to educate. There's so much that people don't know about seafood. There's still a lot of confusion about where seafood comes from. What's the difference between wild-caught and farm-raised? What does the public know about imports, exports, health factors, chemicals and environmental damage? The answer, not much! We plan to give the consumer the facts.

We'll advertise, too, but we'll also use the press, presentations, conferences, measured media and advisory boards to get our message across. Starbucks and Ben & Jerry are good examples of companies that used non-traditional, multimedia channels to build major international brands of recognition and trust.

We think we can do something with shrimp that will distinguish it in the minds of chefs and the food service industry. In the future, there will be shrimp and there will be OceanBoy Premium Shrimp! I do believe that we can add value back into this industry by getting more for our shrimp. We will be the leader in attempting to add value to the product through the entire supply chain. Everyone wins when the margins are higher and the consumer gets the product he wants.

Shrimp News: Do your current customers in Florida, like the Publix supermarket chain, help you market the OceanBoy brand?

Steve Walton: Absolutely. They understand fact-based selling and when we give them the facts they know how to use them to sell product. We have a great fact-based story to tell. We develop programs with them, and we partner with them to sell the product. We participate in their promotions and they participate in ours. We share information. We share facts.

Shrimp News: How does Publix currently sell your shrimp? What do they call it?

Steve Walton: OceanBoy Farms USDA Certified Organic Shrimp.

Shrimp News: How close are you to marketing your product through Wal-Mart?

Steve Walton: We have presented to Wal-Mart recently. Wal-Mart is very interested in aquaculture sustainability. They'er excited about our environmental approach and we're excited about working with them, but we have not finalized anything yet. The idea is not to be in every Wal-Mart, but to be in every Wal-Mart that has a market for our product.

Shrimp News: Where else are you marketing your product?

Steve Walton: We are already marketing through Costco.com. If you go to Costco's webpage and type "shrimp" into the search box at the top of the homepage, you'll see our three selections.

OceanBoy at Costco

At the website, Costco offers 12 ounce bags of frozen, USDA certified organic, OceanBoy farmed shrimp (shipping and handling included).

1. Six, 12-ounce bags, $54.99
2. Twelve, 12-ounce bags, $94.99
3. Twenty-four, 12-ounce bags, $179.99

Product Description at Costco's Site: "USDA Certified Organic: OceanBoy Farms Shrimp are certified by the highest standards for health, safety, taste, and environmental sustainability. We raise our shrimp in total harmony with nature without cutting coastal forests, polluting or encroaching on coastal eco-systems, or disrupting human coastal habitats. OceanBoy Farms' shrimp derives its fresh taste and great appearance from growing in artesian well water from a 1,000-foot aquifer. No antibiotics, preservatives, chemicals, less iodine and salt lead to a fresher, purer tasting experience."

"OceanBoy Farms Seal of Approval guarantees the product you have purchased is the healthiest, best quality shrimp on the market for the best eating experience.... Shipped immediately to your door via FedEx 2nd Day Air. Arrives in a reusable cooler and includes recipes and cooking instructions."

"Gift Messaging is available. You will have an opportunity to enter a gift message during the checkout process."

"Standard shipping via FedEx 2nd Day Air is included in the quoted price. The estimated delivery time will be approximately five business days from the time of order. Delivery is not available to Alaska and Hawaii."

"Costco.com products can be returned to any of our more than 400 Costco warehouses worldwide."

Shrimp News Buys and Tests

At Costco's site, I purchased the six, 12-ounce bags of OceanBoy's frozen, USDA certified organic, farmed shrimp for $54.99, followed the cooking instructions (defrost, boil for 1 1/2 minutes and remove from the water to stop the cooking process) and ate them. They were excellent, with a strong shrimp flavor. Here are some pictures of the shipping containers and the shrimp packs.

Information: Steve Walton, OceanBoy Farms, Inc., 2954 Airglades Boulevard, Clewiston, FL 33440 USA (phone 863-983-9941, fax 863-983-9943, email swalton@oceanboyfarms.com, webpage http://www.oceanboyfarms.com).

Information on the Symposium: Manuel Alzamora, Grupo De Ferias, Congresos y Eventos, S.A., P.O. Box 0816, 02898 Panama 5, Panama (phone 507-236-5196, cellular 507-612-6919, fax 507-236-6652, email camaron@gfce.org, webpage www.gfce.org).

Source: Steve Walton. Interview by Bob Rosenberry, Shrimp News International. Panama. November 17, 2005.

Mexico
Ocean Garden Products

Rabobank, the 25th largest bank in the world, with over $600 billion in total assets and operations in 38 countries, provides advice on specialized agro-industrial transactions in Latin America. It has a well-established track record in the seafood industry, having advised on the acquisition of Bumble Bee by Center Partners and of Ocean Garden Products, Inc., by a consortium of leading Mexican shrimp producers.

Rabobank is the only private bank in the world to be awarded the highest credit ratings from both Standard & Poor's (AAA) and Moody's (Aaa), and it is ranked as the world's third safest bank by Global Finance magazine. From its offices in Santiago, Sao Paulo, Buenos Aires, Mexico City and New York, Rabobank provides a full suite of specialized financial services for clients in the food, beverage and agribusiness industries.

Source: PR Newswire (an online news release service). Rabobank Advises Chilean Salmon Producer Robinson Crusoe on Strategic Alliance with Market Leader AquaChile (http://sev.prnewswire.com/banking-financial-services/20060105/NYTH13205012006-1.html). January 5, 2006.

Thailand
Bonding with the United States

Exporters of shrimp from the "dumping" countries—China, India, Vietnam, Ecuador, Brazil and Thailand—must post a bond equal in value to their expected exports for the entire year in order to export shrimp to the United States.

The Thai Commerce Ministry and the Thai Bankers' Association will map out a financial assistance plan in January 2006 to help the shrimp exporters.

Poj Aramwattananont, president of the Thai Frozen Foods Association, said Thai shrimp exporters would have to come up with more than $100 million in bank guarantees to meet the bonding requirements.

Somkid Jatusripitak, Thai Commerce Minister, said Thailand would file a petition with the World Trade Organization claiming that the United States was employing unfair trade practices that targeted Thai shrimp. It will take about one-and-a-half to two years for the petition to go through the legal process.

Source: Seafood.com (an online, fee-based, fisheries news service). Thai banks to provide financial assistance to shrimp exporters to meet $100 million bond requirement. Editor and Publisher, John Sackton (phone 781-861-1441, email jsackton@seafood.com). January 6, 2006.

United States
Nevada-Las Vegas-The 99¢ Shrimp Cocktail

Anthony Curtis, founder and publisher of the monthly Las Vegas Advisor, posts a list of the ten best deals in Las Vegas to his website. Number two on that list: The 99¢ shrimp cocktail at the Golden Gate, a landmark hotel in downtown Las Vegas. At his website, Curtis says, "Hand the cashier at the Golden Gate Deli a buck and she'll hand you a tulip glass full of Bay shrimp (#2). If you want celery or lettuce filler, you'll have to get your cocktail someplace else; it's all shrimp and cocktail sauce here."

The Golden Gate first offered the 99¢ shrimp cocktail in 1959, for 50¢, when the owner wanted to "do something different in the desert," according to current Golden Gate owner Mark Brandenburg. "The price was changed in 1991 to 99¢. That was pretty tough for the locals to bear, but the place was losing about $300,000 a year on the shrimp."

Your 99 cents gets you a large helping of medium-size shrimp served in a spicy cocktail sauce in ice cream sundae glasses. The same glass filled with large shrimp is $2.99.

Brandenburg says, "We now serve more than 800,000 cocktails a year, and we are still losing money, but not quite as much as before."

Sources: 1. The Las Vegas Advisor Website. Top Ten (http://www.lasvegasadvisor.com/topten.cfm). Site visit on January 8, 2006. 2. St. Petersburg Times (newspaper, St. Petersburg, Florida, USA). When saving is the object: Fun at all costs (http://www.sptimes.com/2005/11/06/Travel/When_saving_is_the_ob.shtml). Robert N. Jenkins. November 6, 2005.

United States
Pennsylvania-Zeigler Bros.-Sergio Nates

"To friends and colleagues,

Effective December 30, 2005, I submitted my resignation as Vice President of Research and Technology at Zeigler Bros., Inc. [shrimp feeds, Gardners, Pennsylvania]. The past five years have been exciting for me because of what Zeigler does and what it represents to the aquaculture industry--and because of all of you. I am proud of what we have accomplished together and your support throughout these past years is greatly appreciated.

I have accepted the position of President of the Fats and Proteins Research Foundation, a nonprofit organization with headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia. Please do not hesitate to get in touch with me as I can always be reached at this email address [below]. With many thanks, Sergio Nates."

Source: The Shrimp List (a mailing list for shrimp farmers, "shrimp-subscribe@yahoogroups.com"). Subject: [shrimp] New job - Sergio Nates. From: Sergio Nates (callianassa@yahoo.com). May 9, 2006.

United States
Virginia-Lobster Newsletter

Mark Butler and his colleagues at Old Dominion University in Virginia have converted the Lobster Newsletter into an online publication. The latest issue (Volume 18, Number 2), compiled by John Booth, can be viewed at http://www.odu.edu/~mbutler/newsletter/index.html. You will also find PDF files of previous issues at the site.

Additions and corrections to the mailing list should be sent to lobsternews@mar.dfo-mpo.gc.ca. The mailing list is used to announce new issues of the newsletter. It's up to you to visit the website and download each issue.

Source: Email from XMAR, Lobster Newsletter (lobsternews@mar.dfo-mpo.gc.ca). Subject: Lobster Newsletter. From Mark J. Butler IV and Peter Lawton. January 5, 2006.