In 2015, Oceana bought 100 percent of Daybrook Fisheries, a fishmeal processor, as well as a 25 percent stake in Westbank Fisheries, which supplied Daybrook with its raw materials.¹ To preserve fishing rights, only a US citizen could purchase the remaining stake. “In 2018, the board approached then CEO of Oceana, Francois Kuttel,” an American, according to a report by the Daily Maverick, a South African newspaper. “He resigned from Oceana and through his investment vehicle, Makimry Patronus, purchased the 75% stake in Westbank.” The move raised investor concerns about a conflict of interest.² After a whistleblower questioned “the accounting treatment of matters pertaining to a United States subsidiary,” Oceana launched an independent investigation in February 2022 and suspended CFO Hajra Karrim, according to the industry outlet Intrafish. Imraan Soomra, CEO, resigned a week after Karrim’s suspension was announced, on February 14, 2022.³ After their investigation “resulted in findings of gross misconduct,” according to local news outlets, Oceana terminated Hajra Karrim’s employment on June 3, 2022. Shortly before the executives’ departures, Price Waterhouse Coopers, the external auditor responsible for signing off Daybrook’s financial accounts, resigned, leaving its audit incomplete. Auditors were investigating “the veracity of dates of signatures on an internal document pertaining to an insurance claim in the US of around $4 million during September 2021.”⁴

In 2022, Daybrook Fisheries’ safety and environmental manager Karen Davis, was fired after reporting environmental hazards to the plant’s management. Davis subsequently filed a lawsuit against the company, alleging that the plant had failed to take basic precautions to avoid polluting the local environment, and documenting at least five occasions where plant managers had ignored warnings about leaks, overflows, and spills.⁵ The company denied Ms. Davis’ claims. In November 2022, Louisiana’s Eastern District court dismissed the lawsuit.⁶

On September 22, 2023, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries reported that vessels fishing for Daybrook Fisheries and Omega Protein were responsible for three menhaden spills between September 11 and 14. The spills led to approximately “850,000 menhaden washing up on the Southwest Coast of the US state near Cameron Parish,” Undercurrent News reported.⁷ In October 2023, in response to the spills, the state agency proposed a new expanded buffer zone to prevent commercial fishing too close to the coastline. The proposal also called for “more stringent penalties and reporting requirements,” as reported by Undercurrent News.⁸

In 2024, Daybrook Fisheries reported one accident to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, an injury that required the affected worker to take 48 days away from work to recover.⁹

Daybrook Fisheries was certified under the MarinTrust Global Standard for Responsible Supply between 2021 and 2027.¹⁰ This program requires plants holding this certification to comply with national environmental legislation.¹¹

Daybrook Fisheries did not respond to a request for comment.¹²