Seafood Processing in AlaskaSeafoodProcessinginAlaskaPicture from wikipediaBrief FactsBriefFacts•Seafood processing is the third largest industry inSeafoodprocessingisthethirdlargestindustryinAlaska.• In 2006, 5 fisheries in AK were among the top 10,in money earned, in the nation.• Alaska is the only state with a grind to 0.5 inchand discharge technology based limitanddischargetechnologybasedlimit.•All other states have conventional limits.Allotherstateshaveconventionallimits.Picture from NMFS Fisheries of the United States 2006 report on commercial fisheries landingsPicture from NMFS Fisheries of the United States 2006 report on commercial fisheries landingsKetchikan benthic assessment by GermanoKetchikanbenthicassessmentbyGermanoS di t filSedimentprofileimage; note thenumerous methane gasnumerousmethanegasbubbles interspersedthroughout the fishwaste chunksKetchikan BA ContKetchikanBACont.Sediment profilei himage showing nodetectable apparentRPD due to the highRPDduetothehighsediment oxygendemand ofdecomposing fishwaste; similar redoxvalues were found at 9other stations in thisimmediate vicinityimmediatevicinityGoogle map of the City of Ketchikan withprocessors marked byarrowsSelect comments from tribes and citizensduringpublic notice of last permit:• Having lived my entire life in the Lower Yukon, I amd b h l i f d h diconcernedabout the plants upriverfrom us andthedirectimpact the flowing waters have on our people, subsistencefoods and the Environment downriver.• Our community is very concerned for possible health hazardsto children playing around the fish waste. Bears and dogs arealso attracted to the beaches f rther spreading possiblealsoattractedtothebeaches,furtherspreadingpossiblecontamination, as well as having the bears be a physicalthreat to the community.• In the past I have been repelled by the noxious odor of theresidue that occurs on a seasonal basis as the prevailingwinds blow right into town causing great consternation to mywindsblowrightintotowncausinggreatconsternationtomystomach.Comments cont.• While I’ve heard of obnoxious odors from burps of gas from fish wastethat is decomposing on the seafloor and reports of fish waste burmshi b h f K t hik i hwashing up onbeaches acrossfromKetchikan, my own experiencehasbeen with the floating stuff that collects on my tie-up lines as well as thepiling to which I tie my boat.T ib l b f h N i Vill f E k l l b i•Tribalmembers oftheNativeVillage ofEyakrely on coastalsubsistenceresources to maintain their culture and traditional lifestyle.• The Native Village of Eyak suggests that technical advances in the last20 years have made reasonable alternatives to discharge available toprocessors and that this issue should be revisited.• In order to maintain and protect water qualityaround Southeast Alaska’scommunities with nearby seafood processors, EPA must officiallyreinstate the germane effluent guidelines and apply the ‘best practicablecontrol technology currently available’ for seafood processing facilitiesin Alaska.For those who don’t know what ground waste looks like. This iswhat is settlingon the sea floor.Environmental and Human ImpactsEnvironmentalandHumanImpactsSet net subsistence fishermen standing in ground fish wastecomingled with sanitary waste. Fish waste fouls their nets andmakes it more difficult for them to fish.Smothering of benthic communities onthe seafloorDead zones, areas where few species cansurvive.Pile eruptions - eruptions ofwaste from discharge areas on thewastefromdischargeareasontheocean floor,sendinglarge matsggof decomposing fish waste up toth f d itti lthe surface andemittinglargeamounts of sulfur dioxideWastes can be broughthi h tid dup onhightides andleft on the shorelinefor long periods offorlongperiodsoftime.Dissolved oxygen sinksDissolvedoxygensinksPiles of seafood waste as large as 90 acres withPilesofseafoodwasteaslargeas90acreswithno height restrictions. Some piles several feet tallOne of many loads of waste from the dredging of a historicOneofmanyloadsofwastefromthedredgingofahistoricwaste pile that hadn’t seen any discharges in over 10 years.Attraction of unwanted sea birdsAesthetics within towns isunappealingF d b d fi hFoam surroundsboats andfishermenBloody waste running down the beach