Fish Offal Management

August 1, 2014

The disposal or reuse of fish processing waste has long been a challenge for Michigan’s fish processing industry. Approximately 5 million pounds of waste from commercially processed lake whitefish, lake trout, and salmon are generated annually. In an effort to help the Michigan fish processing industry find better solutions to handle fish processing waste materials, a project was initiated to determine the viability of composting fish waste. The objectives of this project were to develop a compost marketing strategy, produce compost that met identified market specifications, and document the levels of mercury and halogenated hydrocarbons along the composting process to allay concerns in using composted fish waste.

The Composting Commercial Fish Processing Waste from Fish Caught in the Michigan Waters of the Great Lakes guide discusses ways to compost processing fish waste.

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MSU Extension