Investigation leads to shrimp plant search

• By DAVID MITCHELL
• Advocate Florida parishes bureau
• Published: Jun 25, 2009 - UPDATED: 1:55 p.m.

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State and federal fisheries agents executed a search warrant at the DoRan Seafood LLC shrimp plant in Independence this morning in an ongoing joint investigation of the illegal repackaging of foreign shrimp as domestic product, a state wildlife official said today.

The investigation involves several states in the northern Gulf of Mexico region, state wildlife officials said.

Lt. Col. Jeff Mayne of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries said no one has been arrested in connection with the search warrant at DoRan at this time. Mayne declined to say whether warrants were executed at any other facilities elsewhere in the state or gulf region.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration enforcement agents also participated in executing the warrant at the Independence shrimp processing plant today, Mayne said.

He said state and federal laws prevent foreign product from being packaged as domestic product, a criminal offense.

Mayne said some nations do not have the same restrictions on the use of chemical and antibiotics as the United States imposes. The laws are also meant to protect the integrity of Louisiana seafood and the state’s shrimp industry.

Since the shrimp plant opened in May 2007, the facility has had a difficult relationship with some residents and the current town administration over complaints of odors and the wastewater that the facility was releasing into the city sewer system.

State and federal lawsuits have been filed in connection with those complaints and town officials have shut down and restored water and sewer services for the facility, essentially shutting down operations.

The shrimp plant’s owners have installed an expensive water treatment system to cleanse its wastewater in response to those complaints.

DoRan owner Randy Pearce did not return a call for comment today. DoRan civil attorney Ross Lagarde was not in his office early this afternoon.