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Just got in at .05, already down 5% - sweet :)
Go, VYST, go!
Mods - please sticky - copy/paste of San Antonio 2/1 follow up article.
BUSINESS
Texas-sized shrimp dream at long last proves viable
Lynn Brezosky | on February 1, 2019
LaCOSTE — After 18 years and $35.4 million in development spending, the founders of NaturalShrimp are convinced shrimp lot No. 180 at the company’s remote Medina County fish-tank complex is their aquaculture-industry pay dirt.
The translucent, beady-eyed crustaceans zooming through the salty water are now into their 22nd week of growth. They’re about five inches long and 18 grams apiece. They are gulping down food pellets dropped at hourly intervals with abandon, well on their way to a harvest weight of 23 grams.
NaturalShrimp is one of the companies trying to prove you don’t need a big body of natural saltwater like the Gulf of Mexico to raise shrimp — that they can grow to commercial proportions in specialized tanks on land. The business’s aim is to deliver fresh shrimp to restaurants and markets far from the sea.
Survival rates at the NaturalShrimp facility are beating expectations, and could wind up being well above the 50-percent rate considered notable in the industry. For the first time, workers haven’t had to wade through the tanks with buckets, fishing out floaters.
Investors in the penny-stock company are perking up, with the share price rising 353 percent from Jan. 2 to its Jan. 31 close of 7.7 cents.
But despite the small burst of excitement, Dallas-based NaturalShrimp is still just getting started.
The next step is to restock after harvest, and add three more, 65,000-gallon indoor tanks to the complex. From there, the company will attempt to replicate the process in places far from sea water but a less than a half-day’s drive from metro areas teeming with markets clamoring for chemical-free, never-frozen shrimp.
Or salmon, sea bass, lobster, clams or oysters. Natural Shrimp’s patent, granted Christmas Day, 2018 — patents are only granted on Tuesdays — covers all aquatic species.
“We know it works — it’s just now ramping up production,” co-owner Gerald Easterling said. “It’s not a concept any more, it’s a reality.”
By “it,” Easterling was referring to a pricey system of pumps, filters and a proprietary device that, after the latest round of tinkering, is in its fifth iteration. It essentially uses selective electrical currents to destroy the bacteria and break up the effluent ammonia that have so far destroyed crop after crop of shrimp — and globally made shrimp farming a shaky proposition.
On ExpressNews.com: In August, the shrimp were about the size of a pen cap https://www.expressnews.com/business/article/Texas-shrimp-farmers-turn-to-technology-for-13144582.php
“It basically singes (shrimp-killing bacteria) and disintegrates it so it’s not able to spread,” said Peter Letizia, CEO of Florida-based F&T Water Solutions, which partnered with NaturalShrimp to develop the technology.
Electrostimulation has been around for over 100 years, Letizia said, and is commonly used to sterilize surgical equipment. But it’s beginning to expand to commercial agriculture. Letizia also has been working with fruit, vegetable and marijuana growers to test its capabilities as an alternative to pesticides and herbicides.
But the expense and complexity so far has kept the technology from widespread use in food production.
“Trying to just put electricity in water is basically the science, but there is an art behind exactly how do you do it,” he said. “What kind of electrodes do you use? What kind of power source do you use? What kind of spacing? How much volume? There are all those intricacies that take it from a science and make it more like an art.”
“NaturalShrimphas it down to where they know exactly how much they can grow a pound of shrimp for, and basically they know how much they can sell it for,” he added. “So it’s actually a very predictable or predictive market, which is kind of why we like it.”
Jim Bloom, managing partner at San Franciso-based investment firm Vopne Capital, called NaturalShrimp a “fundamentally attractive investment.”
“NaturalShrimp continues to show signs of breaking out after underperforming in 2018 on investors taking note of the company’s push to strengthen its growth prospects,” Bloom wrote in an analysis published Jan. 22. “The company is fresh from receiving a new patent for the commercially viable system for growing aquatic species indoors. The company now owns worldwide rights for growing shrimp species indoors leveraging its new-patented technology.”
NaturalShrimp started in 2001 in a tank in the basement of co-owner and chief technology officer Tom Untermeyer. Untermeyer, then a newly retired Southwest Research Institute program manager. wanted to use his electronic engineering background to help start a business.
There’s no doubt of the strong demand for shrimp.
Shrimp is the United States’ top-selling seafood, with the average consumer eating 4.4 pounds of it per year. As ocean stocks have declined from overfishing and pollution, farming it has become a big business, overtaking wild harvesting in 2007.
Traditional shrimp farms are built on coastlines that have a ready supply of salt water to fill open ponds. Inland shrimp farming has been evolving, but companies have mostly experienced inconsistent production and have to stock their ponds at low density due to water treatments that introduce bacteria and cloud the water.
“The reason we’re here, (why) we stayed with it, is we always knew the market and the need,” Easterling said. “What we have here is phenomenal. It answers all the problems in the industry as far as raising aquatic species indoors.”
Texas leads in U.S. shrimp cultivation. But that production has declined, from a 2003 peak of 9 million pounds valued at about $18 million to between 2.5 million and 2.9 million pounds per year. Texas shrimp farms in 2016 generated revenue of about $8.3 million.
Aquaculture consultant Granvil Treece said the farms have taken hits from young shrimp not surviving the transport or acclimating to man-made environments. Fewer than half make it to market. Bowers, which operates the state’s largest shrimp farm near Matagorda Bay, had the state’s highest survival rate at 54 percent.
It’s the same for farms around the world. And even when the larvae take, shrimp in all producing countries have frequently succumbed to disease outbreaks. There also are concerns about aquaculture operations damaging estuaries and contaminating natural fisheries with toxic outflows.
A 1999 disease outbreak in Ecuador nearly wiped out that nation’s shrimp farm industry as well as some 100,000 jobs. Mexico in 2016 suffered devastating losses to disease and premature harvest.
Many in the industry thought they’d found the solution with biofloc, a water-filtration method that uses probiotics to help neutralize bad bacteria. But after six years and an investment of $15 million, Natural Shrimp’s leaders concluded biofloc didn’t meet the needs of their high-density business plan.
One week they’d be selling out their shrimp at the Pearl Farmers Market, the next they’d be no-shows. Harvests would, within a few days, drop from 1,000 pounds to 40 as the bacteria quickly proliferated.
“We would have tanks full, and then we’d start having them die off,” Easterling said. By the time they noticed the first few dead ones, it was too late.
While NaturalShrimp mwon’t harvest the current tank till mid- to late-February, the goal for the 30,000-square-foot facility is 4,000 pounds of shrimp a month. The aim is to produce 7,000 pounds each week once the new tanks are operational, sending truckloads rumbling past neighboring corn, cotton and sunflower fields to buyers like Michael Scott, the corporate chef at Rosewood Texas Raised Wagyu Beef.
Scott first came across the shrimp about a decade ago at a Dallas food show. He has since become a NaturalShrimp shareholder.
“I thought they were Hawaiian blues,” a variety of shrimp, he said. “I walked over, snapped the head off and I bit into the tail raw... I said, ‘This is buttery — this is very clean.’ I said this is like the ‘Kobe beef of shrimp.’”
Scott likes that the shrimp aren’t washed with citric acid and sodium for extended shelf life, and haven’t had exposure to water pollutants.
“When I clean these shrimp, we’re not pulling big poop lines out,” he said.
Lynn Brezosky is a San Antonio-based staff writer covering trade, agriculture and the economy. Read her on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | lbrezosky@express-news.net | Twitter: @lbrezosky
Up we go! Choo choo!
BOL = BUY OUT LOOMING
LOL. BEST OF LUCK ALL!!! :)
On board. Just bought 2.5MM. Won't be a quick ride up. There are over 100MM 2's on the ask. Slowly but surely I'm hoping.
In case anyone wants to help David and Mimi Walters out, and take their Laguna mansion off their hands. Their 570 sq ft apt in Irvine must be doing fine for them.
http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/3-Inspiration-Pt-Laguna-Niguel-CA-92677/25586150_zpid/
http://www.ocregister.com/taxdollars/strong-478952-http-walters.html
State cancels contract with firm co-owned by Sen. Mimi Walters' husband
Nov. 1, 2012 Updated Aug. 21, 2013 12:28 p.m.
By BRIAN JOSEPH, Sacramento Correspondent
The California prison system canceled this week its contract with a prison staffing firm co-owned by Sen. Mimi Walters' husband after the state received multiple complaints that the company wasn't paying its subcontractors.
In June, the Watchdog, along with the Los Angeles Times, reported that several dentists and pharmacists who subcontract with two companies co-owned by David Walters hadn't been paid for their work in California prisons.
One of the firms was Drug Consultants, Inc., which was told in a letter dated Wednesday that its contract was being terminated.
From July 2003 through last February, the state prison system paid Drug Consultants Inc. $61.8 million, according to records the department provided the Register.
The department paid a second company controlled by Walters' husband, American Healthcare Recruiting, $15.6 million over the same period.
"California Correctional Health Care Services (the court-appointed office in charge of prison medical services) has received multiple reports that DCI has failed to pay non-disputed claims to registry nursing personnel utilized by DCI to perform services at California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation," writes Renee Carroll, contracts manager.
She continues:
CCHCS also recently received a public records request from a registry nurse provider claiming she had not been paid for services rendered in June and July by DCI and requested status of payment from CCHCS to DCI for these two months. We also received communication from a registry nurse declining to perform further services at a CDCR facility due to non-payment by DCI. DCI's adoption of management practices to forgo payment to some of its registry personnel, as evidenced by the multiple credible claims received by CCHCS, is interfering with the delivery of services provided under this Agreement.
The letter goes on to say that Drug Consultants, Inc. has failed "to respond to multiple requests" to provide financial documents. Carroll writes that this failure leaves the state to make conclusions about Drug Consultants, Inc. financial condition based on its "continued pattern" of not paying subcontractors and its recent downsizing of its offices.
"These factors indicate an unstable financial condition," Carroll writes. "DCI's current financial condition combined with its adoption of management practices to not pay some of its registry personnel, have interfered with the delivery of services."
The Watchdog called Keith Moore, a director of Drug Consultants, for comment, but he hasn't responded. David Walters also hasn't responded to a voicemail seeking comment.
Reached on her cell phone, the senator said, "I found out about it (the contract's termination), as my husband did, in the newspaper," referring to a late Wednesday post online by the Los Angeles Times. "That's the only comment I have," she said.
Also in June, the California Fair Political Practices Commission launched an investigation into Sen. Walters for potential conflict of interest violations after it was revealed that her office made several inquiries on behalf of Drug Consultants, Inc. That case is still pending.
She's a liar as well
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mimi_Walters
2012 California State Senate race[edit]
On September 20, 2012, Democratic candidate Steven R. Young filed a petition of extraordinary writ[8] seeking declaratory relief to the California Secretary of State to exclude opponent Mimi Walters from the 2012 election ballot for failing to establish a clear residency status in the district she was running in. Under state law, state legislators are required to live in the districts they represent.[9][10]
Walters and her family have long been associated with Laguna Niguel, where she served on the City Council and was elected to two terms in the Assembly and one in the Senate. But last year, the new California Citizens Redistricting Commission re-drew the state’s legislative districts. To run in the newly drawn 37th Senate District, Walters says she moved to Irvine. Young and two registered Republicans who have joined in the suit say Walters’ move was pure fiction. According to the suit, Walters and her husband, David, have lived in a 14,000-square-foot mansion in Laguna Niguel since 1999. Then, this year, the suit says that Walters changed her voter registration to reflect that she’s living in a 570-square-foot apartment in Irvine with no dishwasher or washer/dryer hook ups.[11][12]
A Sacramento County Superior Court judge denied Young's petition to have Walters' name removed from the ballot. According to the judge, "the court doesn't have jurisdiction to hear questions about the qualifications of members of the state Legislature." [13]
Amazing that she keeps getting elected even though her husband is a crook and a fraud, and she allegedly helped him:
http://articles.latimes.com/2012/jun/23/local/la-me-walters-ethics-20120623
current b/a?
2,400,000 volume today. Who was able to sell?
Is that the "dump" signal?
I have watched this since .0005. It's clearly too late to jump in, right?
Comprehensive CC updates appreciated. Have not been able to listen yet. Thanks.
.0005 close. not bad. i was almost certain someone was going to paint a .0004 close.
thanks for the .0004's today. yummy.
Very exciting stock to be in. February should be a great month. Let's be careful though about the "news is coming" claims. News will come when it comes. Too many penny players get anxious and bail and tank the stock when everyone thinks news is coming imminently and then it doesn't. Patience is truly a virtue. We all have time here.
Is this the same David Walters from California who scammed all of the MSTF investors (Monarch Staffing) to the point of a no bid stock with no reporting, no news, and no chance?
QASP back in the day (1-2 years ago) was always a great flip play. Buy at .014, sell at .018, rebuy at .014, etcetera. We are obviously a notch lower, but to grab the same profit, would need to buy at .0019, and hope to sell at .0025. Tricky because the closer you get to 0, the easier it is to hit 0. Basically, I would say, if you're not very savvy in penny trading, be careful trying to flip this POS.
Woo hoo! Let's go VIPR!
I'm in for 2.6MM. What the heck. Go VIPR go!!!
Should have looked there first. Sorry. Ok, I know exactly where it is. Right on 202, a very busy shopping center/area. It will be tough to get out there during the week but I'll shoot for a weekend visit to check around and see if any progress has been made.
What is the physical address of where the store front is supposed to be in Flemington? I'm only about a half hour away and wouldn't mind swinging by for a visit and taking/posting updated pictures. TIA.
Post Unavailable
Additional Information
Does the CEO still post here on IHUB? If so, what is his current alias? Thanks.
Mr. DD,
I’m a small player, but just slapped the ask an hour ago for 88,400 @ .0164
I’m tired of the scam penny stock game and am intrigued by this FLD. I plan to hold until the collective team feels it’s time to sell. Has that price point been determined? I see a lot of talk about a nickel. Please enlighten this newbie as to the team’s specific plans. If you don’t want to post it on the board, then please email me at guavapure@comcast.net
Thanks,
OOO1
This is not true.
I remember the 1st huge volume day for PIH*
Hundred of millions sold @ .0007. It would not budge. Everyone was saying the same thing - if it can’t go up now, it will never go up. It was in the 20’s within a week.
Patience.
Everyone needs to relax. Calling the SEC and FINRA will lose you ALL of your money. Is that what you want? The stock gapped this morning. The gap is being filled. Have you folks ever invested in penny stocks before? It is very rare for a stock to gap and run with no fill. Give the stock some time and chill out.
I'm remaining optimistic. There's gold in them there hills. glta.
NITE moved from 0006 to 0007
Today's going to rock!
Level 2 thin
1 @ 0006
2 @ 0009
1 @ 0015
Sweet!
It’s amazing that someone has enough time on their hands to bash a 0001/0002 stock. Pathetic. Not meant for you, CDOgG
The MM’s are holding this back to scare the .0002 sellers into thinking that the run/momentum is gone and to try to force them to sell at .0001
They’re so predicatble. Not going to happen. Silly MM’s
I had the paint ready but it wasn’t needed with those HUGE buys at the close! Tomorrow’s gonna be fun!
Locked and loaded for a 111,111 trade, if the crooks put it through for me…..
I got some paint if need be.....
Awesome volume! This is exciting. I knew going into this that I could be flushing money down the toilet, or could have to wait a long long time, but now I’m thinking this may hit real soon! So glad I got into this one. Bring on the fun!
I bought someone’s dump at .0008
I knew better and originally had my buy order in at .0006 but sucked down the kool aid and ended up buying at .0008
Bagholders unite!
TD Ameriturd
Got my lotto filled at .00005
Nice