The Company’s headquarters are located in Jasper County, SC. This beautiful region is known as the “Lowcountry”. It is in the coastal plain of the State and has ample access to high quality saltwater. It is from Jasper County that the efforts of the Company shall branch.

The formation of this project is the result of efforts that began in 1984. At this time, I became interested in commercial applications of shrimp aquaculture after reading an article about the Waddell Mariculture Research and Development Center (a research facility that is a part of the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources) in Bluffton, SC, and the research work being done there on the farming of marine species. I began doing research into penaeid shrimp mariculture and ultimately relocated in 1985 from Georgia to Hilton Head, SC. I became well acquainted with the manager of operations of the Waddell Mariculture Center and spent quite a bit of time learning everything that I could about penaeid shrimp mariculture. I then began work to put together the plans for a project for shrimp farming in South Carolina. Then, as well as today, most successful shrimp farms around the world (primarily the “economically developing countries”) used semi-intensive or intensive farming methods, which require substantial pond acreage and a dependable source of ocean-quality water. Assuming that an intensive management system of shrimp farming would work in South Carolina, I began to search for potential locations in the area. Three potential sites in Beaufort County were located where the landowners had initial interest. Unfortunately, approximately 18 months of conceptualization and planning were for naught, due to the explosion in land prices in the U.S. (and especially Beaufort County) for development at or near saltwater access. The numbers just would not work. As it turned out, this situation was probably a blessing in disguise, as the state of the shrimp farming industry in the U.S. was far from perfect. That only one crop of shrimp per year could be raised in these latitudes was a material problem. So, I redirected my business efforts into other areas. However, I continued to follow the state of this developing industry throughout the years waiting for another opportunity. After years of research and development by both the public and private sector in the U.S. and elsewhere, the potential for penaeid shrimp production in the U.S. has reached a level where cost vs. yield may result in substantial profitability. The Waddell Mariculture Center has been a leader in the development of new and improved production methods, and it has proven the economic viability of shrimp mariculture during two years of full-scale field trials at the Center. Using a “closed-loop greenhouse” system, it is now possible to farm shrimp profitably in practically any reasonable geographical environment in the U.S., while achieving production levels once thought to be impossible. Possibility of a production level in excess of 60,000 lbs. of shrimp per acre of water per crop has been exhibited, and the new methodology allows for the production of three or even four crops per year.

Shrimp is now the most widely consumed seafood in the United States. Approximately 88% of this shrimp is imported. In 2004, the per capita consumption of shrimp in the U.S. was 4.0 lbs. The wholesale shrimp market is worth approximately $4.0 billion annually, with processors, wholesalers, and value-added food processors adding an additional estimated $4.0 billion to this value. If the Ocean’s Bounty Seafarms™ project can capture just 5% of the U.S. market for shrimp, gross revenues of approximately $400,000,000 per year would be possible. If the estimated gross margin on sales from the Project is as I expect (30% or greater), $120,000,000 in annual gross profits could result. And that is the result of just the production of food shrimp. The project also has additional sub-levels of operations that can further produce income. That is why the Ocean’s Bounty™ Management Group, LLC, shall facilitate the Ocean’s Bounty Seafarms™ project.

Mills Rooks, CEO
March, 2005