Fish Grinding

Diver_Dave · Post by **Diver_Dave** » Sun Apr 29, 2007 8:59 am

Went to do a survey for a fish plant here...Wow u guys should see the wast pile 200' long 120' wide and 17' deep

What a mess...

CaptnJack · Post by **CaptnJack** » Sun Apr 29, 2007 3:18 pm

what a waste

Joshua Smith · Post by **Joshua Smith** » Sun Apr 29, 2007 3:35 pm

Uh.....what are they grinding them up for? Cat food or something? Is the pile full of huge crabs and stuff? You'd think that was a huge buffet for some kinds of critters......

Dmitchell · Post by **Dmitchell** » Sun Apr 29, 2007 4:56 pm

CaptnJack wrote:what a waste

What else are they going to do with it? It's bones and the junk parts after processing the fish. The problem is that it's not really supposed to pile up on the bottom.

Most of the plants that I've done surveys for have very little discharge. This one must have some issues eh Dave? Is this SSS???

Dave

CaptnJack · Post by **CaptnJack** » Sun Apr 29, 2007 7:31 pm

It makes good fertilizer for one. And the Japanese seem willing to eat anything so maybe they want it.

The degradation of it in water makes it anoxic.

Diver_Dave · Post by **Diver_Dave** » Sun Apr 29, 2007 9:33 pm

Well it all just sits on the bottom to rot...I saw one crab on the pile it is the sickest thing that u will ever see or smell.......A diver can smell it through your mask when u r diving around it yuk.....We have 4 plants that do that grinding here in Sitka....Its a real stinky mess and to work in its unreal the smell after the dive is um um (A smell u wont forget) If u have velcro on anything like gloves or drysuit pockets u r really stinkin bad......

That would be the outflow pipe

CaptnJack · Post by **CaptnJack** » Mon Apr 30, 2007 8:25 am

You won't find fish on or near it and it will smother and suffocate any other critters too.

That practice would be illegal in WA, and might very well be in AK too. Not sure whether AK is an authorized state under the clean water act or what kind of NPDES permit they have for those discharges.

Lax regulation it appears.

Dmitchell · Post by **Dmitchell** » Mon Apr 30, 2007 9:15 am

Actually, it's all about as closely regulated as is possible. All industrial sites in Alaska are regulated like you wouldn't believe. I guess we're learning from your mistakes.

We have a huge gold mine trying to open in Juneau and they've been to the 9th circuit and may go to the Supreme Court over tailings disposal. They want to use (and had all the permits) a derilect pond to put the tailings in but the greenies are crying "Clean Water Act" and have stopped them in court. This has been ongoing for years.

The processors are allowed to dump a certain cubic volume. I'm assuming that Dave was measuring it for the annual survey. If the pile is too big then they have to stop grinding. They are required to grind the garbage to a minimum size as well. The processor I inspect doesn't discharge much of anything. I have a friend who does the inspections for several of the more remote sites and the output varies.

Fertilizer? If you want it I'm sure they would just give it to you. Mind you that it's 1200 miles by boat to Seattle. I can imagine the smell of the oozing maggot infested containers...

CaptnJack · Post by **CaptnJack** » Mon Apr 30, 2007 9:55 am

Apparently the AK just treats those sediments/waters as a sacrific zone. Volume shmolume there's enough BOD there to suck up all the O2 there for a long time.

We have some unwritten sacrific zones in WA too. Lake Union here in Seattle is the most noteworthy. Mostly non-point pollution though and too many big interests at stake. Point sources get more scrutiny.

BASSMAN · Post by **BASSMAN** » Mon Apr 30, 2007 1:36 pm

This is the Pile Tom and I saw on Daves depth finder when we were there.
We suggested he should call "Dirty Jobs" (The TV show) when he had to do work there!

Dmitchell · Post by **Dmitchell** » Mon Apr 30, 2007 1:55 pm

Dirty Jobs - Dave should call them when he cleans a boat bottom and comes home covered in worms.

The sites while not exactly eco-friendly are fully permitted and monitored by the State and Feds - Not that that means much.

Alot of this gets spread around in the tides and dispersed as well. It's not uncommon to have tides swing from -4' to +18-20' in 6 hours.

Dave

BASSMAN · Post by **BASSMAN** » Mon Apr 30, 2007 2:08 pm

Yeah, it may be regulated somehow, but I think it should be illeagle to throw that much waste {Mass Quanity} back in the ocean like that.
I can't think of, or would not want to, guess what the equivlent of disposal of human waste would be.
Its not just a matter of returning fish to the ocean it is "Rotting Fish"
Mmmmmmm, Yummy! Hows that Alaskan Crab taste now?

I think that would be the true reason "Dirty Jobs" wouldn't be able to do an episode on this.

Dmitchell · Post by **Dmitchell** » Mon Apr 30, 2007 3:17 pm

It's all money driven, Everyone want's "fresh Alaskan Salmon". This is where it comes from.

DM

Cwest · Post by **Cwest** » Mon Apr 30, 2007 3:41 pm

My last year in King Cove. Peter Pan Seafooods switched over to drying out that stuff and was pretty much giving it away as bone meal fertilizer.A couple guys brought home 2000lb bags of the stuff to spread around their houses and gardens.
The report I got was it stunk up the home front for the first couple of weeks while watering but worked really good.
I know King cove smelled alot better after the switch.

Diver_Dave · Post by **Diver_Dave** » Mon Apr 30, 2007 8:22 pm

Come on up and I will take u diving on the pile myself..

U guys would love it..

BASSMAN · Post by **BASSMAN** » Tue May 01, 2007 7:02 am

Diver_Dave wrote:Come on up and I will take u diving on the pile myself.. U guys would love it..

No thank's Dave!

I know first hand, that there is many other better dive sites up there.

I would dive the Harbor at night again and battle

the Sea Lions, before I would dive on a pile of rotten fish guts.

Northwest Dive Club

Fish Grinding

Fish Grinding

Outflow