Lazaro Aleman
ECB Publishing, Inc.
Here comes what the Jefferson County Economic Development Committee (EDC) has code-named “Project Forrest Gump,” a proposal that the group pitched to the Jefferson County School Board last week.
Forest Gump refers to Natural Shrimp Inc., a Texas-based aqua-tech company that has developed what it calls “a patented proprietary technology for the production of fresh, gourmet-grade shrimp without the use of antibiotics, probiotics or toxic chemicals.”
Fresh, not frozen shrimp, is the business’s mantra.
Natural Shrimp Inc., according to the presentation by EDC members Commissioner Chris Tuten (chairman), Property Appraiser Angela Gray, and Planning Official Shannon Metty to the school board on Monday evening, Oct. 25, is interested in locating a shrimp-growing facility in Jefferson County.
The company, in fact, has shortlisted the potential locations for its facility to either Jefferson or Madison counties, and is trying to decide which of the two best fits its requirements.
Tuten told the board that in order to attract families with children here, “and not become like the Villages,” it was necessary to bring in job-creating businesses, which was what his committee was working to do. Natural Shrimp, he said, was just one of several projects that the EDC was pursuing.
The group explained that Natural Shrimp Inc. was looking to place an indoor facility in North Florida because it would be strategically situated to distribute its products within a 500-mile radius and serve about 40 million customers.
Per the presentation, the company would create 31 full-time jobs, 16 seasonal jobs, pay significantly higher than average wages, and infuse $2 million annually into the local economy.
Gray said that representatives of the City of Monticello and Duke Energy had already been involved in the discussions, as the two would provide the water and power for facility’s operation.
Where the school district came into the picture, Gray said, was that the company was looking for a sustainable workforce and a program to develop such a workforce.
“They’ve narrowed the search down to Jefferson and Madison counties,” Gray said. “One of the deciding factors is that they want to work with the county and school district to create a Career and Technical Education (CTE) program from which they can hire. They are looking for the county that can offer the CTE program.”
CTE courses generally prepare students for high-demand career jobs with a depth of learning that builds real-work skills, according to educators. Each CTE course is part of a comprehensive program of study that provides students with certificates so that they are ready to work upon graduation.
CTE programs focus on subjects such as auto repair, cosmetology and culinary arts, among others. They teach vocational and technical content to give students the skills and knowledge to enter an occupation upon graduation.
Gray said Natural Shrimp would want to work with the school district to implement a CTE program on aquaculture, hydroponics and related subjects.
The company wants to create 200 facilities around the world, and wants to create a workforce to fuel the growth, Gray said.
School Superintendent Eydie Tricquet and the school board were receptive to the idea, saying that the district would have no problem expanding its CTE program, if that’s what it would take to draw the company here.
The EDC committee indicated that they would communicate the school district’s willingness to the company. The committee also indicated that it would be putting funding for a CTE program expansion among the legislative priorities for the coming legislative session.
“This will open the door for a lot of other things,” Tuten said of Natural Shrimp coming here. “But we need to work together. We are trying to get everybody on the same page.”
He specifically asked the school board to designate a member to participate in the EDC committee going forward, so that all could work together toward a common goal.
NSI, as Natural Shrimp Inc. identifies itself on its website, promises to develop fully contained and independent production facilities that raise Pacific white shrimp in an ecologically controlled, high-density, low-cost environment in geographically strategic areas.
The company has plans to expand its production facilities and distribution channels domestically and internationally, holding that shrimp is the world’s most consumed seafood and a sustainable source of protein for a growing world with diminishing resources.
According to statistics that NSI cites, ocean trawlers currently catch 45 percent of the global supply of shrimp, with the other 55 produced by open-air shrimp farms, mostly in developing countries.
NSI holds that both these production methods are unsafe, unsustainable and ecologically destructive, with its technology offering the ideal alternative.
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