Regulatory issue prompts trū Shrimp to move planned production facility

Less than three months after announcing plans to build a 67-acre shrimp hatchery in its home state, an aquaculture company has had to change course and move forward with constructing the production facility in a neighboring state.

On 4 January, South Dakota officials announced trū Shrimp would build its first production facility in Madison. That facility will replace one planned for Luverne, Minnesota. Madison is located about 50 miles northwest of Luverne in South Dakota.

“South Dakota is pleased to welcome its newest corporate citizen, trū Shrimp, to Madison,” said Dennis Daugaard, whose term as South Dakota governor ended the day after the announcement. “The growing aquaculture industry, led by trū Shrimp, is not only a great fit for Madison, but also a natural fit for our state’s agricultural heritage.”

In Madison, trū Shrimp will build a facility that can produce baby shrimp and raise them for eventual harvest. When company officials announced the Luverne facility, they expected construction to take about two years to complete, although some operations would have been started while crews finished work.

Jamie Brink-Thordson, a trū Shrimp spokesperson, said the goal is to begin construction in Madison later this year.

Company officials said the main reason for moving the location dealt with a regulatory issue that could not be resolved in time in Minnesota. Specifically, the issue relates to some discharge of saltwater used to grow the shrimp. Most of that water is cleaned and reused in the system, and the company has procedures in place to control any harmful minerals.

“Our timeline for capital financing and construction in 2019 does not allow adequate time to resolve the items in Luverne,” said Michael Ziebell, trū Shrimp’s president and CEO. “Locating the first Harbor in Madison not only meets the critical components of our business model, but our timeline as well.”

Brink-Thordson said the company will revisit future expansion sites within Minnesota once the regulatory issues can be resolved with Luverne and state officials.