For centuries, there has been one consistent by-product of the commercial fishing industry: waste.
In recent years, savvy seafood producers have gotten better at utilizing more and more of what comes out of the water, but despite the efforts, there is still waste and quite a lot of it. But the age-old question has always been what do we do with it? The easiest solution was always to toss it or pump it back into the ocean.
While in theory, the waste disposed of back into the sea or the landfill is, for the most part, biodegradable. I am sure there are environmentalists yelling right now after reading that previous sentence. But what is the best end for the discarded by-products such as heads, bones, fins, shells and skin? Depending on the fishery, these can make up 30—70 per cent of the total fish and while often discarded, they are rich in nutrients.
Canada has had numerous seafood waste projects focusing on repurposing waste into valuable products like high-value peptides for health products, biosurfactants for industry, and fertilizers. Other projects include converting waste into sustainable packaging, creating biofuels and improving waste management systems through technology adoption programs.
While undergoing much study and R&D investment, few, if any of these projects have ever been commercialized. And among the few that have, most are no longer operating today.
Why can’t this potentially successful industry spinoff get any traction?
A study by Memorial University of Newfoundland found that while there is interest in finding alternate uses for fish processing discards and by-products, several factors inhibit utilization of these materials, including:
- Availability remains uncertain.
- Short harvesting seasons.
- Inability to properly collect and stabilize by-products and preserve quality.
- Geographical spread of landing sites and fish plants make logistics difficult.
- Lack of suitable by-product processing facilities.
- Lack of a viable business model.
- Market access.
While we still ponder the seafood waste conundrum, globally has anyone successfully been able to turn entrails into cash? One only has to look to Vietnam.
Over the last few decades, Vietnam has quietly grown into a seafood superpower. Many don’t realize it, but Vietnam is now the third-largest seafood exporter globally, trailing only China and Norway. The country has a significant market share of more than seven per cent and is aiming to become the world leader in sustainable seafood exports by 2030.
The Southeast Asian country has made it an economic priority to explore ways to transform seafood by-products into value-added products, boosting the sustainability and profitability of the sector while contributing to a circular economy.
This move has been embraced on both large and small scales.
According to recent media reports, Seafood producer Phuc Loc Co Ltd. said it purchases about 60 tonnes of by-products daily from fishing vessels and factories to produce 4,000–5,000 tonnes of fishmeal annually, generating revenues of US$3–3.9 million.
Meanwhile, another company, Tu Hai Co Ltd. has started exporting cleaned and dried fish bones to Japan for $10 per kilogram.
On a larger scale, the Southern Research Institute for Marine Fisheries utilizes mixed crab species to produce canned crab paste and chitosan powder — a raw material for healthcare and agriculture — which is sold at up to $1,000 per kilogram.
Beyond industrial applications, seafood by-products are being transformed into artistic tourist souvenirs. Restaurants and processing facilities generate tonnes of shells nightly.
According to forecasts from the Vietnam agriculture and environment sector, in the coming years, shrimp heads alone could provide around 490,000 tonnes of food products, while pangasius offcuts and stomachs could provide 100,000 tonnes, and fish oil could provide 150,000 tonnes.
Shrimp shells could yield 146,000 tonnes of animal feed, while fish heads, bones and entrails could supply another 900,000 tonnes annually.
Other by-products — such as shrimp shells and fish skin or swim bladders — could be processed into high-value items for pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and other industries.
By 2030, shrimp by-products are projected to reach 650,000 tonnes, worth $80–100 million, and pangasius 1.3 million tonnes, valued at over $500 million.
Industry regulators also state that processing by-products could generate tens of thousands of jobs, enhance Vietnam’s seafood reputation and ease pressure on the environment due to food processing waste. They note that the country’s success in developing a profitable seafood waste industry is due, in part, to a change in business philosophy — turning by-products into resources requires treating them as a strategic industry rather than leaving it to the spontaneous market.
This focus on seafood waste will soon be worth an additional billion dollars to the Vietnamese seafood industry — simply by using product they already have. Seems so obvious and out of reach at the same time.
Why couldn’t this be happening here in Atlantic Canada? Many will argue that the economies of scale are different and that Vietnam takes advantage of cheaper labour, etc… And those are certainly valid arguments.
But here at home, millions of taxpayer’s dollars have gone into seafood waste research and studies and clear pathways outlined as to what has to be done to get more from our seafood catches. But why no traction?
Does government have to take the lead or does industry have to change its ways — or both?
Whatever the solution, countries are turning waste into cash while we just sit on the sidelines and watch.
