Omega Protein Joins Paradise Creek Cleanup Team

[Click on Photo to Enlarge] NORFOLK, VIRGINIA (Sept. 8, 2002) -- Elizabeth River Project Executive Director Marjorie Mayfield (l.), receives a check for $50,000 from Omega Protein Corporation Corporate Vice President Barney White (l. center) with the help of Virginia Secretary of Natural Resources W. Tayloe Murphy, Jr. (r. center) and "Princess Elizabeth" (r.), the ERP's goodwill ambassador. The presentation was made during the Elizabeth River Project annual meeting at the Heritage Foundation Museum here. The $50,000 grant from Omega Protein, the leading commercial fishing employer in Vierginia, will be matched with federal funds and used to help clean up Paradise Creek on the Chesapeake Bay.

NORFOLK, VIRGINIA (Sept. 18, 2002) -- Paradise Creek, a tributary of the Elizabeth River, is threatened by industry, burdened by residential development, and stripped of its shoreline forests and spongy wetlands. The Elizabeth River basin, on the Chesapeake Bay, is known as the most polluted watershed in the U.S. Omega Protein Corporation is contributing $50,000 in 2002-2003 to the restoration of Paradise Creek.

"We'd like to see people swim again in Paradise Creek and see it restored as a viable habitat for fish and wildlife," said Joe von Rosenberg, President and CEO of Omega Protein.

Omega Protein, the largest U.S. menhaden fishing company with operations in Virginia, joins the U.S. Navy, Southeastern Public Service Authority, Portsmouth General Hospital, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Army's Corps of Engineers and other local civic organizations and companies in a five-year, intensive effort to restore Paradise Creek.

"We have been fishing the Chesapeake for over 140 years, and as the major fishery employer in Virginia, we like to help out where we can. We are also putting our hope where our money is; we hope for a more pristine and productive Chesapeake and healthier and happier communities around it."

"We view our contribution as seed money, as our funds will be matched by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Restoration Center plus financial support from the Ocean Trust. This total will be supplemented by local funds, as well as donations of land and services; so our seed money grows three to four times. We also hope that all concerned parties will root for the success of the Return to Paradise Project," von Rosenberg said.

Omega Protein (NYSE symbol: OME) is the nation's leading producer of edible fish oil, which is high in nutritionally desirable Omega-3 fatty acids and is used in a variety of food products, and specialty fish meals which are used as high-protein ingredients in livestock and aquaculture feeds. In addition to its Chesapeake Bay-based operations, Omega Protein also conducts menhaden fishing and processing operations in the Gulf of Mexico. For more information, contact Omega Protein at 713.623.0060.