NaturalShrimp, Inc. and Ecoponex Systems International announced on Tuesday, 22 December, they have signed a letter of intent with a North Carolina company to develop an organic shrimp farm in Puerto Rico using the NaturalShrimp’s patented technology.
Waste to Energy+ (WTE) has announced plans to construct a facility that will convert municipal waste into renewable energy and organic fertilizer. Ecoponex, which signed a joint venture agreement with NaturalShrimp last month, will finance and operate the shrimp production facility. Ecoponex has developed a renewable energy technology for use in urban agricultural and aquacultural projects. WTE+ plans to use that technology in the facility.
According to a joint news release, the companies seek to provide local Puerto Rican markets with fresh shrimp. The companies estimate there’s an annual demand of 3.5 million pounds based on the island population of 3.2 million, plus the 3.7 million tourists and visitors the U.S. commonwealth attracts.
With an expectation of harvesting 600,000 pounds annually, the Ecoponex/NaturalShrimp facility could satisfy more than one-sixth of that demand.
Ecoponex CEO Benjamin Brant said in a statement the venture become the template for other projects in the Caribbean.
“There are more than 30 islands with over 44 million people and virtually all of their food, including shrimp, is imported,” Brant said. “This puts them at high risk of supply disruption and makes them food insecure. With NaturalShrimp and WTE+ as our strategic partners, we offer Puerto Rico and the entire Caribbean a solution to help these island become more self-reliant for their fresh sea food and organic vegetables, while solving their solid waste problems and using some of that waste to generate badly needed clean electricity.”
Tuesday’s news is the second major announcement in less than a week for NaturalShrimp. On Friday 18 December, the company reported it closed on the purchase assets of VeroBlue Farms. NaturalShrimp reached an agreement to buy the Iowa company’s assets, including permits tanks, shrimp stock, inventory, customer lists, and contracts, for USD 10 million (EUR 8.2 million), in August 2020.
NaturalShrimp CEO Gerald Easterling said the purchase serves as a watershed moment for the company, which uses a recirculating aquaculture system to grow shrimp.
“The state-of-the-art facility, alongside our other expansion project in La Coste, Texas, provides NSI the resources and capacity to become the largest RAS shrimp producer in the country,” he said.
Photo courtesy of NaturalShrimp
