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By-Product Development

By-products from fish waste is an important development topic for the Alaska seafood 

industry. Alaska is one of the world's greatest producers of wild capture seafood. While 

there are a fair number of our fisheries that make use of fish waste through fishmeal 

plants or other processes, there are several notable areas and fisheries that are without 

any significant by-product recovery. 

Salmon is one fishery that lacks alternative uses for most of its fish waste. This is a 

particular problem in certain areas of Alaska where fish waste accumulates to levels high 

enough enforcement actions by regulatory agencies. In the chum salmon fishery, where 

the main value is the roe, use of the carcasses, as required by the State's wanton waste 

law, creates difficulties for fishermen and processors. The roe is at its highest value 

when the fish are ready to spawn, but the quality of the flesh is much reduced at that 

point. Finding alternative uses for chum flesh, short of returning it back into the natural 

food chain, is an important challenge. Some progress has been made to date, but much 

remains to be done. 

Current Alaska Production

Nonetheless, there are a 

number of fishmeal and fish oil 

operations in Alaska. In 2001, 

62 facilities reported fishmeal 

production. The wholesale value 

of these operations was over 

$28 million. A significant portion 

of the fish meal production 

comes from groundfish 

operators, either at facilities in 

Dutch Harbor and Kodiak, or 

from at sea in factory trawlers. 

Compared to global production 

of fishmeal in 1999, Alaska's 

production of 41,700 metric tons 

(92 million pounds) was less 

than 1% of the entire world's 

supply. Alaska production of fish 

oil ranks similarly to relative to 

global fish oil production. 

Limitations

Our fisheries are geared for 

human consumption. Processing 

thus removes much of the 

nutrient value, leaving relatively 

low-nutrient waste. Therefore, achieving similar nutrient levels to those found in meal 

from whole fish reduction fisheries (sardines, anchovies, menhaden, herring, etc.) is 

difficult in Alaska waste-based fishmeal production. 

Global reduction fisheries (those fisheries devoted to fishmeal and fish oil) produced 

30.4 million metric tons in 1999, while the entire Alaska fishery produced less than 7% of 

that amount. The potential volume of material available for meal and other by-product 

production (after removing portions for human consumption and processing losses) is 

therefore quite limited when compared to the global reduction fishery. 

Opportunities

 

 

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Over the last ten years, production from the world's wild capture fisheries has leveled off, 

with 18 - 25% of all wild capture fisheries dedicated to reduction products. Meanwhile, 

aquaculture production has been significantly increasing. Assuming that most reduction 

fisheries are managed for sustainability, any increase in by-products availability must 

come from fish waste from seafood processed for human consumption. 

Alaska may have some opportunities in this regard. Although the potential volume of fish 

waste byproducts from Alaska is small, it may nonetheless be possible for communities 

and industry to handle waste more efficiently, develop commercially viable products, and 

reduce environmental compliance costs. 

Determining the economic potential of fish waste products, and the production 

technologies required is highly dependent on the volume and mix of species available. 

There are often many technologies to create essentially the same product. Choosing the 

appropriate process is essential to achieve profitability. 

Uses

Fish Meals: Fishmeal moves almost exclusively into livestock and aquaculture feeds. A 

significant, but shrinking portion of fishmeal goes into poultry production. With the 

increase in aquaculture production, it is expected that more fishmeal will go towards this 

growing segment. 

Fish Oils - Fish oil use changed dramatically in recent years. In 1990, most fish oil went 

for human consumption. However, by 2000, a majority of fish oil production went towards 

aquaculture operations due to the growth in production of salmon that benefits from fish 

oil additives in feed. Trends suggest only a small fraction of the oil produced in the near 

future will go towards human consumption. 

Bone meal - Bone meal is used for livestock feed. The use of bone meal from ruminants 

(sheep, cows, goats) in Europe was the cause of recent "mad cow" food scares. The 

European prohibition on using such bone meal in livestock feeds may be an opportunity 

for development of wild capture seafood bone meal. 

Fuel - Fish waste may be converted to fish fuel that is comparable to diesel. Dutch 

Harbor reportedly produces 3.5 million gallons of fish oil. UniSea, a major processor in 

Dutch Harbor, worked with the Alaska Energy Authority on a pilot project to test the 

efficiency of using fish oil with diesel fuel for electrical generation. The results so far have 

been positive and await the results of long-term testing on the engines. A number of 

factory trawlers have been adding a fraction of fish oil to their fuel for years. 

Bait - Longline and pot fisheries consume large volumes of bait. In Alaska we import 

thousands of tons of bait every year. Yet little effort has so far been expended to develop 

a bait market utilizing salmon heads, or carcasses from roe stripped fish that are 

unsuitable for food use. 

Plant Fertilizers - There are a few manufacturers of fertilizer made from Alaska fish 

waste. This is a growing business segment, as fish based fertilizers such as hydrolysate 

often offer growers numerous advantages over other fertilizer types. Opportunities also 

exist to partner fish wastes with the availability of other natural resource waste such as 

timber 

Human food - Human consumption of byproducts is an important consideration. Fish oil, 

fishmeal, and certain organs, all have uses in fulfilling dietary needs in markets 

throughout the world. 

Pet food - Several pet food manufacturers are already using salmon by-products. With 

growing populations and great levels of pet ownership, the pet food market is certainly a 

growth segment. For more information on its market potential, read Trends in the U.S. 

Pet Food Industry: The Potential for Alaska Seafood Products

Health products- A number of seafood products are touted for their healthful attributes. 

Pharmaceutical and nutraceutical products have long been used to cure human 

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ailments. Cod liver is a product long sought in the markets. Recent attention is turning 

towards Omega 3 oils, widely found in wild salmon 

Stickwater process - The Kodiak Fishery Industrial Technology Center conducted studies 

on filtering all proteins out of fish waste in an attempt to boil down waste to become 

essentially water. This would ease dumping requirements in some areas. 

 

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