Source: SCIENTIFIC FISHERY SYSTEMS, INC. submitted to 

PHASE II: RURAL COASTAL ALASKA FISH WASTE CONVERSION

PROJECT DIRECTOR: SIMPSON, P. K. 

PERFORMING ORGANIZATION

(N/A) 

SCIENTIFIC FISHERY SYSTEMS, INC. 

ANCHORAGE,AK 99524

NON TECHNICAL SUMMARY: The Alaskan fishing industry produces over one million metric tons of byproduct and waste annually. Rural coastal Alaska communities have been using the grind and dump method

for decades. There is an opportunity to expand existing onshore processing in rural coastal communities and 

provide additional economic value from fish waste and, simultaneously, reducing or eliminating the impact of 

current fish waste disposal practices on the local community. There are more than 200 fish processing plants 

in Alaska, however, fish waste processing occurs at only ten of largest shore-based plants that extract fish 

meal and fish oil for use as aquaculture feed ingredients for fish and shrimp and as livestock and poultry feed 

ingredients. These waste processing facilities process 400 metric ton (400 MT) of waste per day, or more. The 

cost for these plants is several million dollars, they require a tremendous volume of fish that is only available 

at a small number of ports, and they are expensive to operate. In addition, the fish processing plants with 

waste recovery facilities focus the majority of their processing on Pollock and Cod, with only a fraction of their 

throughput dedicated to salmon. The majority of the smaller processing plants are dominated by the seasonal 

salmon processing, which makes the economics of these ventures more difficult. For years there has been a 

need to develop fish waste processing equipment that is significantly smaller and less expensive than current 

systems, opening up the opportunity for more than 100 smaller seafood processing plants to extract greater 

value from their product. Despite many feasibility analyses that have been conducted over the past twenty 

years, affordable fish waste processing equipment with a small footprint has not been introduced and 

demonstrated that can serve these smaller rural coastal processors because of a combination of high risk and 

lack of capital. Recently, the prices for the two primary salmon byproducts, meal and oil, have increased 

dramatically because the marketplace places a premium on human-grade salmon oil and salmon meal. The 

demand for Wild Alaskan Salmon meal and oil has changed the economic potential for processing salmon 

waste at lower volumes at the smaller scale seafood processing plants that serve rural coastal Alaska.

OBJECTIVES: During Phase I, Scientific Fishery Systems, Inc. (SciFish) developed a plan that is economically 

viable for production of salmon waste at 25 MT per day, a sixteenth of the capacity of the current fish meal/oil 

production facilities currently in place in Alaska. The concept of operations focuses on retaining food-grade 

processing of fish waste, which is not retained with the existing plants, hence limiting their markets to animal 

feed. The following technical objectives shall be address during Phase II: Install and operate a 25 MT fish 

meal/oil plant in Cordova Alaska for two consecutive salmon seasons. Demonstrate that the quality of these 

products substantiates a premium price that justifies the capital investment needed for future systems. 

Develop an expansion plan that will allow the process developed and demonstrated in Cordova to be applied 

at other similar size seafood processing plants across Alaska. 

APPROACH: SciFish has formulated a set of seven tasks to achieve the Phase II objectives. These tasks 

include the following: Task 1: Plant Installation The purpose of this task is to install the 25 MT fish meal/oil 

plant defined during Phase I and make the system operationally ready for operations during the salmon 

season. Task 2: Plant Operations - Season 1 The purpose of this task is to operate the fish meal/oil plant for 

an entire salmon season - May 15, 2010 to September 15, 2010. Task 3: Evaluate Plant Performance The 

purpose of this task is to evaluate the performance of the meal/plant operation during the first season and 

determine areas where improvements can be made. Task 4: Refine/Modify Plant & Operations The purpose of 

this task is to identify areas within the existing fish meal/oil plant where further refinements could be made 

both to the plant and its operations that would result in improvements to the product, efficiencies in the 

processes, and ultimately increases in the economic feasibility this and future projects. Task 5: Plant 

Operations - Season 2 The purpose of this task is to operate the fish meal/oil plant for a second entire salmon 

Phase II: Rural Coastal Alaska Fish Waste Conversion - SCIENTIFIC FISHERY SYSTE... Page 1 of 2

http://www.reeis.usda.gov/web/crisprojectpages/218654.html 4/7/2010
season - May 15, 2011 to September 15, 2011. Task 6: Expansion Plan The purpose of this task is to begin 

the process of expanding the number of 25 MT meal/oil plants to other locations across Alaska. Task 7:

Reporting The purpose of this task is to report the progress of this project on a regular basis throughout the 

duration of Phase II. 

CRIS NUMBER: 0218654 SUBFILE: CRIS 

PROJECT NUMBER: ALKK-2009-01113 SPONSOR AGENCY: NIFA 

PROJECT TYPE: SMALL BUSINESS GRANT PROJECT STATUS: NEW MULTI-STATE PROJECT NUMBER: (N/A) 

START DATE: Sep 1, 2009 TERMINATION DATE: Aug 31, 2011 

GRANT PROGRAM: SMALL BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY GRANTS 

GRANT PROGRAM AREA: Small Business 

CLASSIFICATION HEADINGS

KA608 - Community Resource Planning and Development 

KA403 - Waste Disposal, Recycling, and Reuse 

S3799 - Cultured aquatic animals, general/other 

F3010 - Economics 

G6.2 - Enhance Soil Quality for Productive Working Lands 

G3.1 - Economic Opportunities for Growth 

RESEARCH EFFORT CATEGORIES 

KEYWORDS: fish waste~fish oil~fish meal~rural economic development~alaska~salmon 

PROGRESS: TO 

(N/A) 

IMPACT: TO (N/A) 

PUBLICATION INFORMATION: TO 

PROJECT CONTACT INFORMATION

CLASSIFICATION

Knowledge 

Area (KA) Subject (S) Science (F) Objective (G) Percent

403 3799 3010 6.2 60%

608 3799 3010 3.1 40%

BASIC (N/A)%

APPLIED 100%

DEVELOPMENTAL (N/A)%

NAME: Simpson, P. K.

PHONE: 907-563-3474

FAX: 907-563-3442

Phase II: Rural Coastal Alaska Fish Waste Conversion - SCIENTIFIC FISHERY SYSTE... Page 2 of 2

http://www.reeis.usda.gov/web/crisprojectpages/218654.html 4/7/2010
Source: SCIENTIFIC FISHERY SYSTEMS, INC. submitted to 

RURAL COASTAL ALASKA FISH WASTE UTILIZATION

PROJECT DIRECTOR: SIMPSON, P. K. 

PERFORMING ORGANIZATION

(N/A) 

SCIENTIFIC FISHERY SYSTEMS, INC. 

ANCHORAGE,AK 99524

NON TECHNICAL SUMMARY: The Alaskan fishing industry produces over one million metric tons of byproduct and waste annually. Rural coastal Alaska communities have been using the grind and dump method

for decades. There is an opportunity to expand existing onshore processing in rural coastal communities and 

provide additional economic value from fish waste and, simultaneously, reducing or eliminating the impact of 

current fish waste disposal practices on the local community. 

OBJECTIVES: Scientific Fishery Systems, Inc. (SciFish) has formed a team that will develop a production plan 

for storing and processing fish waste, predominantly from salmon, into fish meal and fish oil. Initially the 

project will focus on methods of reliable storage of fish waste coupled with an appropriately sized processing 

capability for sustained processing throughout the winter months to provide stable employment and reduce 

capital equipment costs. Cordova Alaska will serve as the host for a pilot project demonstrating the conversion 

of fish waste to fish meal and fish oil. The fish oil will be subsequently converted into biodiesel that will be 

used to fuel the fish meal and fish oil production facility, resulting in a cost-effective fish meal production 

plant. Cordova has an abundance of salmon each summer that will be stored, stabilized, and processed 

throughout the winter months in a facility that is scaled to match the production throughput of annual

harvests. A successful pilot effort in Cordova will then be replicated in other rural coastal Alaskan 

communities, such as Sitka, Kodiak, Valdez, Seward, Dillingham, and Homer. 

APPROACH: SciFish has formulated a set of six tasks to achieve the Phase I objectives. Task 1: Concept of 

Operations. The purpose of this task is to define how the fish waste will be captured, stored, processed, 

marketed, and sold. To accomplish this task we will clearly define what resources will be needed to achieve a 

pilot production capability during Phase II. The emphasis of this task is to identify potential pitfalls, including 

regulatory and local community issues and the mitigation strategies for overcoming potential challenges. Task 

2: Fish Waste Capture. The purpose of this task is to refine the estimates of fish waste that is available for 

fish meal/oil processing, determine the cost of acquisition for the waste, identify how the waste will be stored, 

explore how the waste can be stabilized for long-term storage to reduce the capital requirements for 

processing equipment, identify potential storage locations, and delineate the costs associated with the storage 

and stabilization. Task 3: System Design. The purpose of this task is to identify the processing plant

components that will be needed to produce fish meal/oil in a pilot program during Phase II. Fish meal and fish 

oil vendors will be evaluated, processing throughput requirements will be established from the projected 

amounts of available waste, and the costs associated with the equipment, both capital acquisition and 

operations, will be established. Task 4: Pilot Deployment Plan. The purpose of this task is to create the pilot 

deployment plan. To accomplish this task we will combine the information produced from the first three tasks 

into a strategy for pilot production during Phase II. The plan will outline what resources need to be in place 

and when to accomplish a Phase II demonstration. Site preparation, storage, production, training, marketing, 

and sales will be incorporated into the plan. At the conclusion of this task we will have a guide that can be 

replicated by other coastal communities for fish waste production on a similar scale. Task 5: Feasibility 

Analysis. The purpose of this task is to refine the preliminary feasibility analysis that was conducted earlier in 

this proposal to confirm the financial viability of fish meal/oil production for coastal communities. A summary 

review of other possible products will also be examined as follow-on efforts that would allow greater value to 

be extracted from the waste. At the conclusion of this task we will have a business (commercialization) plan 

that will be suitable for seeking additional financial support that would allow the pilot program to expand to 

full-scale production beyond Phase II. Task 6: Technology Transfer. The purpose of this task to establish a 

dialogue with the USDA SBIR program officer. To accomplish this task, SciFish will provide a mid-term report, 

Rural Coastal Alaska Fish Waste Utilization - SCIENTIFIC FISHERY SYSTEMS, INC. Page 1 of 2

http://www.reeis.usda.gov/web/crisprojectpages/213523.html 4/7/2010
a final report, and a commercialization plan. 

CRIS NUMBER: 0213523 SUBFILE: CRIS 

PROJECT NUMBER: ALKK-2008-00219 SPONSOR AGENCY: NIFA 

PROJECT TYPE: SMALL BUSINESS GRANT PROJECT STATUS: TERMINATED MULTI-STATE PROJECT NUMBER: 

(N/A) 

START DATE: May 1, 2008 TERMINATION DATE: Dec 31, 2008 

GRANT PROGRAM: SMALL BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY GRANTS 

GRANT PROGRAM AREA: Small Business 

CLASSIFICATION HEADINGS

KA403 - Waste Disposal, Recycling, and Reuse 

S0810 - Finfish 

F2020 - Engineering 

G6.2 - Enhance Soil Quality for Productive Working Lands 

RESEARCH EFFORT CATEGORIES 

KEYWORDS: fish waste utilization; biofuel; salmon byproducts; fish meal; fish oil 

PROGRESS: May 1, 2008 TO Dec 31, 2008 

OUTPUTS: (1) A fish processing company, Copper River Seafoods, has agreed to partner in the development and 

demonstration of a fishmeal/oil processing project during Phase II. With processing plants in Anchorage, Cordova, Homer and 

Seward, and a track record of successful seafood ventures, this firm makes an ideal development partner. (2) A complete 

system design has been created and all of the components have been identified. The initial cost for the system has been 

determined and a lease rate for the pilot project has been negotiated. (3) A pilot deployment plan has been developed with 

Copper River Seafoods that would place a pilot fishmeal/oil plant in Cordova Alaska, a rural Alaskan community that is heavily 

dependent on the salmon industry. (4) A commercialization plan has been produced. This plan was favorably reviewed by 

Purdue University. The comments received during this review process have been integrated into the final commercialization 

plan that will be submitted with the final report. PARTICIPANTS: Patrick K Simpson, PI; Richard P Mullins, Member of 

Technical Staff TARGET AUDIENCES: Rural coastal Alaskan communities PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant

to report during this reporting period. 

IMPACT: 2008-05-01 TO 2008-12-31 (1) A concept of operations was developed that represents a paradigm shift from 

centralized processing to a distributed processing approach, a change that utilizes smaller volumes of fish waste that are 

better matched to the production rates found in small to mid-sized fish processing plants in rural coastal communities. (2) A 

feasibility model has been developed that indicates a 25 MT processing system can be produced and operated with a

reasonable return on investment. 

PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 2008-05-01 TO 2008-12-31 

No publications reported this period 

PROJECT CONTACT INFORMATION

CLASSIFICATION

Knowledge 

Area (KA) Subject (S) Science (F) Objective (G) Percent

403 0810 2020 6.2 100%

BASIC (N/A)%

APPLIED 80%

DEVELOPMENTAL 20%

NAME: Simpson, P. K.

PHONE: 907-563-3474

FAX: 907-563-3442

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