NaturalShrimp Inc. announced on Wednesday, 7 August, that the company’s shrimp production has been halted temporarily due to the detection of a viral disease found in shipments earlier this year. However, company officials are optimistic to resume operations in the near future as new shrimp are expected to arrive next week.
On Monday, 5 August, officials with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department issued a quarantine notice for NaturalShrimp’s self-contained aquaculture production facility in La Coste, located about 25 miles southwest of San Antonio, after the IHHNV virus was discovered in postlarvae shipments the company received in March and April.
According to the World Organization for Animal Health, IHHNV, short for infectious hypodermal and hematopoietic necrosis, can cause severe deformations in Pacific white shrimp.
“Based on the company’s quality control procedures during the course of the shrimp farming process in the company’s tanks and, in this case the slower than normal growth rate indicating possible compromise, the company undertook to have lots independently tested by the University of Arizona Pathology Laboratory in Tucson,” NaturalShrimp said in a statement.
The quarantine came as a result of the positive test results from the University of Arizona. As a result, the company will not be able to sell any shrimp until further notice. NaturalShrimp also cannot discharge any culture water into state waterways.
A spokesman for NaturalShrimp told SeafoodSource that the only shrimp destroyed were those in the infected tanks and that state officials have inspected the facility, allowing the company to receive new shipments.
The company also announced it would purchase its postlarvae shrimp from a different hatchery beginning this month. Production will begin as soon as the La Coste facility passes an inspection to lift the quarantine.
A Texas Parks and Wildlife spokesperson was checking on the inspection timeframe for SeafoodSource.
“Furthermore, the company has enhanced its system to include nursery tanks that will allow the company to evaluate the health of the shrimp through much earlier testing in its quality control process,” NaturalShrimp said.
A day after the quarantine announcement, NaturalShrimp revealed it received a USD 5 million (EUR 4.5 million) commitment in equity financing from GHS Investments. Under the agreement, the private investment group will be able to purchase preferred stock at USD 1,000 (EUR 892) per share with a stated value of USD 1,200 (EUR 1,070) per share.
NaturalShrimp expects the first USD 250,000 (EUR 222,983) purchase to take place in the next few days.
“Today's announcement demonstrates our ability to raise significant capital as we seek to expand and develop our patented technology,” CFO William Delgado said. “The Preferred stock agreement will allow us to strengthen our stockholders' equity section on our balance sheet, thereby allowing us to further meet the commitments to up list on a senior exchange sometime in the near future."
The publicly traded company currently sells stock on the over-the-counter market (OTC:SHMP). It opened Thursday at USD 0.051 (EUR 0.045) but was up to USD 0.077 (EUR 0.069) in midday (ET) trading.
NaturalShrimp claims it has found a way to create a recirculating system that controls both ammonia and bacteria in salt water aquaculture tanks.
Photo courtesy of NaturalShrimp
