Company History

Our company came to be from the need to improve the water quality at one of the largest bodies of water in the United States and the largest lake in California; the Salton Sea. The Salton Sea is a land locked lake located in southern California south of Palm Springs with a salinity level higher than the ocean. Many have described the lake as one of the largest ecological disasters in the US. A major source of water replenishment is run off from area agriculture and what very little rain is experienced in the area and as a result, the water has a very high nutrient load. Scientists have been studying this body of water for decades trying to determine the best way to improve the water quality. Dr. Lewis Zettell, our founder, realized through testing that his technology could be utilized to help restore life back to the Salton Sea. With this in mind, he set out to prove his theory.

Dr. Zettell bought a vacant “brine” shrimp farm located on the shores of the Salton Sea. He set up a system where he drew water from the Salton Sea, ran the water through his process and hoped to prove the efficacy of his technology. During this time, he recruited his son, Adrian Zettell to help set-up and run the process. Adrian had the idea to place shrimp into these ponds to help determine the possibility that the process could not only “clean” the water but it could also sustain marine life. As a result, the shrimp not only lived, they thrived. This was the foundation or what would be developed in our Newburg, North Dakota, R&D facility. Over the course of the next few years, this process was tested and perfected to the state of the art technology we utilize today.

Mission Statement

To produce the best tasting, natural, healthy product through a sustainable, environmental manner devoid of all chemicals, growth hormones, and antibiotics routinely used in shrimp farming today and the mercury and other contaminants found in wild caught shrimp.

Commitment to Sustainability

Blue Oasis’s commitment to sustainability is guided by the principles as set forth by one of the world’s leading conservation organizations, the Monterey Bay Aquarium. The Monterey Bay Aquarium has created a program called Seafood Watch with the purpose to educate consumers and businesses on the best selections of seafood which help preserve the health of the ocean’s ecosystems and maximize sustainability.

These principles include:

1. The use of less wild caught fish (in the form of fish meal and fish oil) than it produces in the form of edible marine fish protein, and thus provides net protein gains for society^*;
2. Does not pose a substantial risk of deleterious effects on wild fish stocks through the escape of farmed fish^*;
3. Does not pose a substantial risk of deleterious effects on wild fish stocks through the amplification, retransmission or introduction of disease or parasites^*;
4. Employs methods to treat and reduce the discharge of organic waste and other potential contaminants so that the resulting discharge does not adversely affect the surrounding ecosystem^*; and
5. Implements and enforces all local, national and international laws and customs and utilizes a precautionary approach (which favors conservation of the environment in the face of irreversible environmental risks) for daily operations and industry expansion^*.