June 15, 2012 – Omega Protein Corp., a nutritional ingredient company and the nation's leading vertically integrated producer of omega-3 fish oil and specialty fish meal products, today announced an update on its fishing efforts as of the close of business on June 8, 2012, the end of the eighth week of the Company's 2012 fishing season.
As of June 8, 2012, the Company's total fish catch was at approximately 162,200 short tons, a 29 percent increase compared to the corresponding eight-week period in the 2011 season, and a 68 percent increase compared to the Company's five-year average through week eight.
Omega Protein's fish oil yields were lower by 27 percent compared to those in the comparable eight-week period in the 2011 fishing season and were lower by 45 percent compared to the Company's five-year oil yield average through week eight. Total yields decreased 9 percent compared to the first eight weeks of the 2011 fishing season, and decreased 13 percent compared to the Company's five-year average through week eight with the decreases due primarily to the lower fish oil yields.
"We are pleased with our strong fish catch and fish meal production, despite experiencing disappointing fish oil yields season-to-date," commented Bret Scholtes, the Company's president and CEO. "Going forward, we remain focused on managing the controllable aspects of our business and we will continue to work on improving our marine operations to best position the Company to capitalize on improvements in market fundamentals as they may occur for fish meal and fish oil."