Neptune Industries Addresses USDA on Alternative Feeds: Financial News

Neptune Industries Addresses USDA on Alternative Feeds
Thursday May 1, 2008 9:00 am ET

SILVER SPRINGS, MD--(MARKET WIRE)--May 1, 2008 -- Neptune Industries, Inc. (OTC BB:NPDI.OB - News) headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida announced today that its executive officers attended the USDA's Alternative Feeds Initiative in Silver Springs, Maryland yesterday to discuss the results of the second stage of the Company's research on Ento-Protein(TM). Ento-Protein(TM) is a high quality, sustainable protein derived from the controlled mass production of select insects. The feasibility, taste acceptance, and growth analyses on fish fed Ento-Protein(TM) based diets are being undertaken and sponsored by Neptune at Mississippi State University. The Company anticipates that this research will set the stage for commercial entrance into the $7 billion dollar market for fishmeal.

The Company has said that previous results confirm the first mover status of Ento-Protein(TM) as a sustainable alternative to the harvesting of wild caught baitfish including anchovy, herring, and menhaden. These species and others are rapidly being depleted for feed not only for farm raised seafood, but chickens, hogs and other livestock. If an alternative such as Ento-Protein(TM) is not made available, it could have a serious affect on wild seafood stocks as well as fish farming.

The USDA is currently in the process of developing standards for U.S. organic seafood certification. Current recommendations will not allow fish to be certified organic that are fed diets including fishmeal, following a suggested Sunset provision for the progressive elimination of this ingredient.

According to Ernest D. Papadoyianis, Neptune President and CEO, "The purpose of these meetings was to gauge the current state of alternative feed research, and suggest priorities for future research funding initiatives, in an effort to accelerate the development of alternative feeds. Potential solutions were offered by those in attendance for replacing fishmeal in fish and animal diets. Break-out groups were formed to evaluate suggestions for funding by NOAA and the USDA. We are extremely encouraged that the group ranked Ento-Protein(TM) as the second most potentially viable out of dozens of products proposed to resolve this industry bottleneck."

About Neptune Industries

Neptune Industries is a technology company which from inception has been committed to achieving sustainable, eco-friendly aquaculture by innovating and pioneering a "total and comprehensive integrated systems solution" approach to the mission critical challenges facing the Aquaculture Industry today. Dwindling supplies of wild caught stocks used for fishmeal, and the continued environmental damage, escapism, and disease caused by self-polluting net pen systems, have severely restricted Industry growth on a global basis.

Our mission is to utilize our expanding production operations base of all-natural, sustainable farm raised seafood products, as the working platform for the development of innovative, next-generation technologies to dissolve current industry bottlenecks. Further, our commitment is one of systems integration that targets "zero waste." Fish, organic produce, and waste-to-energy systems synergize to form a production model with multi-revenue streams.

Thus far, the Company has applied for patents and has made significant progress in the development of three technology platforms, one of which its calls "Ento-Protein"; the second of which it calls "Aqua-Sphere," and the third of which it calls its "Aquaponics." Taken together as components of a whole -- this total integrated system solution approach addresses what the company believes to be THE three critical problems stymieing the growth of the Aquaculture industry which will invariably cause it to fall increasingly short of growing world wide demand.

Aqua-Sphere(TM) is a state-of-the-art scalable, modular, floating closed containment system that is capable of concentrating and removing solid waste, eliminating predation and escapement, utilizing alternative energy for remote applications, and isolating crop from the environment.

Ento-Protein(TM) is a truly revolutionary development pioneered by Neptune to be a high quality, sustainable protein derived from insects which is intended to be a replacement for the rapidly depleting fishmeal made from wild caught feedstock species, and is currently a $7 billion market.

Aquaponics is the existing practice of integrating fish and plant production through soil-less culture (hydroponics) using the waste effluent as fertilizer. Neptune has advanced the methodology through the use of the Aqua-Sphere(TM). The hydroponic system provides a revenue stream off of the waste component of the fish production through very high quality organic herbs and vegetables. In addition, as another part of the water treatment and Aquaponics system a derivative product of algae is grown in floating socks, which is the 30x more productive than corn on a per acre basis, for the production of bio-diesel.

Finally to validate and test Neptune's solutions and technologies, the Company operates a sustainable fish farming facility in Florida City, Florida called Blue Heron Aqua Farms, Inc. Blue Heron Aqua Farms currently is one of the leading producers of hybrid striped bass, which it markets nationally and internationally as Everglades Striped Bass(TM). For further information, please visit the Company's website at: www.neptuneindustries.net

Safe Harbor Statement

Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: This news release may contain forward-looking information within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, including statements that include the words "believes," "expects," "anticipates" or similar expressions. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. This news release speaks as of the date first set forth above and the Company assumes no responsibility to update the information included herein for events occurring after the date hereof.