SBIR-STTR Award

The largest groundfish resource for Oregon commercial fisherman is Pacific whiting (Merluccius productus). This fishery is economically important to many rural, coastal communities. In 1999, 60,000 metric tons of whiting will be delivered to Oregon shore-based processors. Over 43,500 metric tons of carcass waste will be generated during 1999 from shore-based processing of Pacific whiting. For several years, disposal of waste has been an increasing problem and cost for Oregon processors. Presently, expansion of shore-based processing is unlikely without first solving the problem of waste disposal. One solution is to use whiting carcass waste as a raw material for higher value products. These products need to be developed for large, expanding markets, and have prices high enough to off- set the cost of carcass waste disposal. A product that meets these criteria is hydrolyzed, high protein dry fish meal for aquaculture. Our proposal is to determine the feasibility for producing hydrolyzed, high protein dry fish meal from Pacific whiting carcass waste. Based on preliminary experiments, the process we are proposing appears economical. Our research would focus on how best to produce a consistent, dry fish meal that meets the nutritional criteria for use in aquaculture.

Anticipated Results/Potential Commercial Applications of Research:
Successful development of an economic process to convert Pacific whiting carcass waste to hydrolyzed, high protein dry fish meal offers a practical solution to the problem of waste disposal. This fish meal would have a value high enough to off-set the cost of carcass waste disposal, and provide a profit to fish by-product processors producing the meal. The result would be more jobs and better wages in rural fishing communities. Furthermore, successful development of hydrolyzed, high protein dry fish meal from whiting waste would provide the basis for developing other hydrolyzed meals for use in horticulture and agriculture.

The largest groundfish resource for Oregon commercial fisherman is Pacific whiting (Merluccius productus). This fishery is economically important to many rural, coastal communities and in 2000 over 60,000 metric tons of whiting were delivered to Oregon shore-based processors. Processing Pacific whiting generates very large amounts of carcass waste. Over 70 percent of the landed weight of fish is discarded and in recent years disposal of this material has become problematic and expensive. Presently, expansion of shore-based processing of whiting is unlikely without first solving the problem of waste disposal. One solution to this problem is to use Pacific whiting scrap as a raw material for higher value products. Our Phase I research successfully demonstrated that it is economically and technically feasible to convert whiting scrap into both hydrolyzed and non-hydrolyzed, high protein fish meals. The goal of our Phase II proposal is determine if converting Pacific whiting carcass waste into hydrolyzed and non- hydrolyzed high protein fish meal can be a profitable commercial endeavor. Our research will focus on how best to produce commercial scale quantities of consistent quality fish meals from whiting scrap that meet the nutritional and physical criteria for high value use in aquaculture agriculture and horticulture. ANTICIPATED RESULTS & POTENTIAL COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS OF RESEARCH Successful development of an economic process to convert Pacific whiting carcass waste to hydrolyzed and non-hydrolyzed, high protein fish meals offers a practical solution to the problem of waste disposal. These fish meals would have values high enough to off-set the cost of carcass waste disposal and provide a profit to fish by-product processors producing the meals. The result would be more employment opportunities and better wages in rural fishing communities. Furthermore, converting whiting scrap into high protein fish meals would provide the basis for development of additional products that could be made from this material and used in agriculture and horticulture.