A unique company called Ormeaux du Cotentin

Do you know what abalone is? It is a small, edible marine mollusk much sought-after by the great chefs. Unfortunately, it is hard to come by in the wild and so, abalone harvesting is strictly regulated. This explains why Philippe Mezerette created Ormeaux du Cotentin in June 2001.

After two years of hard work, the company with a staff of three has just tested its first abalone, so marketing can now start. The small Gouville-sur-Mer (Manche department) based company is developing other abalone research programs that have a wide range of outlets.
"Our initial goal was to produce abalone and market the mollusks when they reached 2 centimeters, the right size for fancy restaurants that use them to make gourmet appetizers," recalled the CEO of Ormeaux du Cotentin. In early summer 2003, the small Basse-Normandie company launched the first 2-centimeter abalone on the market. Although customers found that the product offered outstanding quality, they wanted to have a slightly larger product. So the company has already begun to market 3-centimeter abalone but also 5-centimeter abalone that are cooked for main dishes. "We would like to increase our output threefold and reach a diversification of our offer in the mid-term," explained Philippe Mezerette.
Two Years Hard Work to Go from the Lab to Industrialization
Before getting to where they are now, they had to work hard for a full two years. In 2000, Philippe Mezerette contacted the authorities at the Syndicat Mixte de l'Equipement du Littoral (SMEL, a mixed syndicate for coastal facilities) in Blainville to get information on a program launched some ten years ago. Although Philippe Mezerette is not from an aquacultural environment, he was trying to develop a project. He then met Nolwenn Langlois-Rehault, an abalone specialist and graduate with an Advanced Masters in Coastal Resource Development, who also wanted to develop a hatchery. However, she lacked the financial resources for putting together a well-grounded file. "So, I asked the young woman and Fabien Wursteisen, who was also in at the beginning of the project and a specialist in the technical aspects, to come work in the first structure that I wanted to set up. And thats how it all began," said Philippe Mezerette.
It took seven to eight months to get the project going, define production methods for the abalone, and organize the future aquacultural farm, which was officially created in June 2001. The first eggs were spawned in May the following years. "Although the first four egg clutches were quite low, we improved our fertilization methods, especially in the autumn of 2002, with increasingly valid fixation rates," he explained. The company was also working with interns from the Laboratoire de Biologie et de Biotechnologie Marines (LBBM, laboratory of marine biology and biotechnology, Caen University), headed by Professor Michel Mathieu. By late 2002, the young company reached the goals it had set. "Since then, we have had egg clutches every month with a conditioning protocol of our animals that was developed in-house," said Philippe Mezerette.
Eighteen Months for Cryopreservation Development
The Ormeaux du Cotentin CEO admits that without the different aid packages for his project, the company would undoubtedly never have gotten off the ground. The project received support from ANVAR and substantial help from Normandie Incubation. "So, we were able to get several refundable grants. It helped unlock the door to bank funds. We were also able to obtain scientific validation for our project. Actually, technical support from a laboratory, in our case the LBBM, is a requirement for Normandie Incubation selection," he reported. Today, the small Gouville-sur-Mer company is unique, boasting an advance on potential competitors. Actually, there are several aquacultural abalone farms on the Irish coasts, but they focus mainly on research.
Despite its advance, the company is already planning the follow-up with the development of several projects. Philippe Mezerettes team working with the LBBM is working on a cryopreservation process for sperm, eggs and maybe even fertilized larvae. The company has the entire technical and scientific platform of the LBBM for the eighteen-month program (also supported by ANVAR). The Laboratory has also seconded one of its research scientists to the company for the program. Because the Ormeaux du Contentin team, which is now proficient in the egg-deposition protocol, has to eliminate half of its production for each clutch, it has come up with the idea of cryopreservation. "That way, we can preserve larvae at subzero temperatures, and then use them for own production. But we might also put them on the market for people wanting to start up in this field," explained Philippe Mezerette.
Using Abalone Mother of Pearl
The Ormeaux du Contentin CEO does not want to say too much about the other projects except that they are based on using abalone mother of pearl. "For the time being, we have to finalize our plans to reach the second stage. This involves capturing a position on the abalone market thanks to our production tool. Then in 2004, we will set up a small laboratory to work on abalone mother of pearl," concluded Philippe Mezerette who believes there is a variety of outlets for the marine mollusk. Indeed, he is thinking of hiring another four people between the end 2004 and 2005., ,Les Ormeaux du Cotentin,Phone: [phone] - Fax: [phone],Email: [e-mail]
Source : ScienceTech Basse-Normandie Newsletter ,http://www.basse-normandie.net/lettre/english/index_en.html ,Free subscription : http://listes.cru.fr/wws/info/sciencetech.basse-normandie.en

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