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Site Visit Report 

Alaska Seafood Processing Industry Petition Response 

Lindsay Guzzo 

Environmental Engineer 

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 

Region 10 Permits Division 

guzzo.lindsay@epa.gov

206-553-0268 

 Betsy Bicknell 

 Senior Environmental Engineer 

 Eastern Research Group, Inc. (ERG) 

 betsy.bicknell@erg.com

 703-633-1612 

Plant Name Alaska Glacier Seafood

Plant Address Juneau, Alaska

NPDES Permit # AKG520528

Date of Visit Sunday, August 15, 2010

People Contacted Peter Hochstoeger K.D. Roop

Mike Erickson (by phone) 

Seafood processed Chum salmon

black cod (sablefish) 

halibut 

rockfish 

crab 

spot prawns 

sea cucumbers 

various ground fish 

Products Fresh and Frozen fillets (80% of production)

Fresh and Frozen whole fish (H&G) 

Roe 

Range of annual production volume 2009 production was approximately 6.4 million 

pounds 

Months of operation March through November

Discharge type Grind and haul for off shore disposal

Company website www.alaskaglacierseafoods.com

The Alaska Glacier Seafood (AGS) plant is located on Auke Bay, about 13 miles north of 

downtown Juneau. The plant is five years old and processes small volumes of a wide variety of 

seafood. Products are fresh and frozen. Fillets make up around 80% of production, the remainder 

is whole fish. Figure 1 shows the exterior of the plant. 

Waste Management. AGS hauls waste for off shore disposal. They accumulate waste in totes on 

the dock, run it through an Autio grinder, and pump it into a bow picker (small boat). Alaska 

Glacier owns the boat, motors, and pump, which cost about $48,000. 

Figures 3 - 4 show totes containing various fish waste, fish heads, and fish trimmings 

respectively. Figure 5 shows a tote dumper emptying waste into the Autio grinder. Figure 6 is a 

close up of the grinder. The boat transports the ground waste to beyond Portland Island where it is 

pumped out of the boat. Figure 7shows the pump and the bow picker filled with fish waste. The 

discharge pipe is held under the surface during the pump out. Pump outs take about an hour. The 

frequency of disposal runs varies with season. It may be as frequent as twice a day during salmon 
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season or once a week at slower times of the year. Figure 8 shows the entire waste processing 

area by the dock. 

Alaska Glacier estimates the labor costs for running the waste disposal boat per year to be about 

$17,536 gross pay with an estimated 40 gallons per week of gas to run the boat. The boat is run 

typically from March – November. 

Production. AGS uses movable tables and equipment that can be arranged in various set ups 

depending on the fish to be processed. Figure 9 shows the fish sorting area with the moveable 

equipment. They hand butcher halibut, Chum salmon, black cod (sablefish) and other groundfish. 

Rather than washing waste into floor drains, it is captured in catch basins and other containers 

and dumped into totes. Figure 10 shows a fish butchering process with the waste being placed in 

the tote in the foreground. 

AGS operates a crab cooker, chiller, blast freezer, rotary glazer, and a small roe room. Figure 11

shows an overview of the interior space of the plant and Figure 12 shows the preparation prior to 

freezing. The rotary glazer is shown in Figure 13. Fresh products are shipped via Alaska Air 

while frozen products are packed into refrigerated containers and shipped by barge. 

Sanitary Wastewater Management. The AGS plant is located outside the city sewer services. 

Plant sanitary wastewater is treated onsite. Wastewater flows through screens and a separator 

located under the pavement to remove solids. From the separator, the wastewater flows through a 

peat moss pods that act an attached growth biological treatment device (i.e., a biofilter). Outflow 

from the peat moss pods passes through a U.V. disinfection device and is discharged 10 feet 

below the surface, some distance from the dock. AGS paid $52,000 for the set of pods which are 

guaranteed to last for eight years. 

The wastewater discharge is monitored regularly by Admiralty Environmental. AGS reports the 

results to ADEC on discharge monitoring reports. Juneau Septic Services pumps out the solids 

that accumulate in the separator sump under the pavement. They also pump out any solids that 

have accumulated in storm drains and the fish drain. 
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Figure 1: Plant Exterior (source: http://www.alaskaglacierseafoods.com) 

Figure 2. Fish waste 
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Figure 3. Fish heads 

Figure 4. Fish trimmings 
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Figure 5. Tote dumper 

Figure 6. Ground fish waste 
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Figure 7. Waste in boat (with pump) 

Figure 8. Waste totes and boats 
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Figure 9. Fish sorting station 

Figure 10. Gutting fish 

Figure 11 Plant overview 
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Figure 12. Prep for freezer 

Figure 13. Rotary glazer 
Memorandum 

January 4, 2011 

Page 1 

MEMORANDUM 

TO: Betsy Bicknell 

FROM: Mark Briggs, ERG 

DATE: January 2011 

SUBJECT: Skow and Tender Vessel Costs for Seafood Waste Transport

Dock Street Brokers 

SCOW

Location: Oregon 

Asking 

Price: $85,000 

Status: Available 

Year 

Built: 1948 

Length: 76 

Hull: Wood 

Builder: Seattle Shipbuilding 

Engine / 

Fuel: Diesel fuel 

Details: 

76.6’x24’x4.5’ wooden flat deck power scow built in 1948 by Seattle Shipbuilding. 

Twin 8V71 mains rated at 350 hp. Norhern Lights 20kw generator. 100,000# 

capacity in two aluminum deck tanks. Tico Marine deck crane. Electronics include 

Furuno GP-31 GPS, Furuno SSB, Wood Freeman auto pilot, Furuno radar and color 

sounder. Extended trunk cabin on deck. Price reduced to only $85,000. 
Memorandum 

January 4, 2011 

Page 2 
Memorandum 

January 4, 2011 

Page 3 

Tender 

Location: Alaska 

Asking 

Price: $210,000 

Status: Available 

Year 

Built: 1954 

Length: 78 

Hull: Steel 

Builder: US Navy 

Engine / 

Fuel: Diesel 

Details: 

78’x22.6’x 3.6’ steel tender originally built in 1954 by the US Navy as a landing 

craft. Twin 8V71 mains. Twin Disc gearboxes. Isuzu 55kw generator. 671 100 kw 

generator. 205,000# capacity in two tanks. 40 ton RSW system. Electronics include 

ComNav auto pilot, Raytheon 24 mile radar, Marine Tech sounder, Garmin GPS, 

and a Nobeltech charting software on a laptop computer. Transvac fish pump with a 

new 30 hp motor and a blower rebuilt in 2008. Crane and fixed boom with vanging 

and topping. Asking $210,000. 
Memorandum 

January 4, 2011 

Page 4 

The Practical Encyclopedia of Boating: An A-Z compendium of seamanship, boat maintenance, navigation, 

and nautical wisdom, by John Vigor, published by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Sensible explanations and advice on all aspects of boating — power and sail — to help you solve everyday nautical 

problems, written in a practical and refreshing style. 

Read more: http://www.answers.com/library/Boating Encyclopedia#ixzz1B1TSB9HTThe only way you can 

estimate how far a tank of fuel will take you is if you know the fuel-consumption figures for your 

engine. Following are some general rules:A marine diesel engine consumes about 1 gallon per 

hour (GPH) for every 18 hp generated (a 27 hp engine running at two-thirds capacity will 

generate 18 hp).Another way to calculate the amount of diesel fuel used in 1 hour is to multiply 

the horsepower being used by 0.055.Four-stroke inboard gasoline engines need about 1 GPH for 

every 10 hp generated. Alternatively, you can estimate the number of gallons consumed in 1 

hour by multiplying horsepower used by 0.1. 

Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/fuel-consumption-1#ixzz1B1TDEz00 

Bureau of Labor Stats. Fishers and Fishing Vessel 

Operators 

In May 2008, median annual wages of wage-and-salary fishers were $27,950. The middle 50 percent 

earned between $19,510 and $33,580. The bottom 10 percent earned less than $16,080, while the top 

10 percent earned more than $45,930. Earnings of fishers and fishing vessel operators normally are 

highest in the summer and fall when demand for their catch and environmental conditions are favorable 

and lowest during the winter. Many full-time and most part-time workers supplement their income by 

working in other activities during the off-season. 
Memorandum 

January 4, 2011 

Page 5 

Location: Washington 

Asking 

Price: $325,000 

Status: Available 

Year 

Built: 1986 

Length: 68 

Hull: Steel 

Builder: Chauvin 

Engine / 

Fuel: Diesel 

Details: 

68’x20’x7’ steel crabber/tender built by Chauvin in 1986. Cummins NTA 855 main, 

360 hp, 800 hours on rebuild. Twin Disc 514 4.5:1 gear. GMC 3-71 30kw aux, John 

Deere 40kw aux. Copeland 30 ton compressor for RSW / spray brine / air. 

Completely rigged with all the gear for crab, tuna, trawl, and tendering. 2,600 gallons 

water, 6,500 gallons fuel capacities. Dedicated gas tank for transfer during tendering. 

Up to 90 days tender contract. Electronics include (2) GPS, VHF, SSB, plotter, radar, 

sounder, auto pilot, Trac phone, and VMS. Asking $325,000 for vessel. Several 

permits are available to buyer including 500 pot WA crab, OR, CA, and WA shrimp. 

Call for details. 
From: "Jesie Ormsby" <jesie@alaskaglacierseafoods.com> 

To: "'Betsy Bicknell'" <Betsy.Bicknell@erg.com> 

Date: 2/21/2011 6:09 PM 

Subject: RE: Questions from EPA about Alaska Glacier waste disposal boat 

Betsy, please see below response in red. 

Jesie 

 

From: Betsy Bicknell [mailto:Betsy.Bicknell@erg.com] 

Sent: Thursday, February 17, 2011 12:09 PM 

To: mike@alaskaglacierseafoods.com 

Cc: jesie@alaskaglacierseafoods.com; Anderson.Donaldf@epamail.epa.gov 

Subject: Questions from EPA about Alaska Glacier waste disposal boat 

 

Mike: 

 

When I visited Alaska Glacier Seafoods with Lindsay Guzzo, EPA, in August, 

we learned about the boat that AGS uses to dispose of seafood processing 

waste in Stephens Passage. We learned that the boat is a 32' bowpicker 

equipped with a 110 HP engine. We also learned that the boat cost about 

$48,000 and that a disposal trip is about 6 nautical miles (round trip). 

 

Please correct any of this information that is not correct. 

 

I'm looking for more details to help EPA estimate what it would cost if 

other AK seafood processors were required to dispose of their waste off 

shore. Could you tell me: 

 

- how much waste (pounds) does the boat carry per trip? 16,000#s of waste

- how long does each trip take: 3 hours total.so 1 hour there + 1 hour to 

unload + 1 hour back 

hours to travel to and from the disposal site 

hours to pump out the waste 

- how many men are required to take the boat out and pump the waste 

overboard? (that is, how big a crew is required for waste disposal) 1-2 men 

depending on weather 

- what type of fuel is used in the engine(s)? (gasoline or diesel), and what 

do you currently pay for it? Gasoline is used

- how much fuel is burned per hour of vessel operation? (or per disposal 

trip, if that is easier to estimate). Roughly 25 gal as an estimate per 

trip 

 

Hope your crab season is going well and that you have a great 2011. 

 

Betsy 

 
 

 

Betsy Bicknell 

Senior Environmental Engineer 

Eastern Research Group, Inc. 

(703) 633-1612 

betsy.bicknell@erg.com