110 U. S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES 



PRESENT USES OF SHRIMP WASTE 



Chemical analyses and experimental studies indicate that the 

 waste is a valuable product, convertible into several types of material. 

 (1) Shrimp meal has been on the market for some time as a ferti- 

 lizer ; this product is prepared from the dried waste from the shrimp 

 drying process as well as from the waste from some canneries. (2) 

 Raw shrimp waste is used by the truckers and farmers who live 

 near the canning plants. There is some hesitancy about the utiliza- 

 tion of the green waste because of the fly infestation that accom- 

 panies putrefaction. As a result of this fly infestation there is a 

 considerable loss of nitrogen. (3) The presence of bone phosphate, 

 proteins, fats, and iodine in shrimp meal makes it a valuable con- 

 centrated feedstuff when the material is processed to bring it into a 

 condition palatable to animals. 



THE PEOBLEM 



Recent developments in medicine have included the demonstration 

 of the necessity of iodine for the human sj^stem, especiall}" as a cor- 

 rective for goiter conditions and to assist in the prevention of goiter 

 among the inhabitants of the so-called " goiter belt '" of the Middle 

 West. 



In a study made by Tressler and Wells * it was pointed out that 

 among the mollusca and Crustacea are found those organisms bear- 

 ing the highest iodine content of all sea foods, for these animals 

 average between 2,000 and 11,000 parts of iodine per billion. The 

 lobster has an iodine content of 11,600 parts per billion on the water- 

 free basis ; oysters, 6,000 ; clams, 6,200 ; and shrimp, 2,250. 



The medical profession has prescribed various iodine-bearing sub- 

 stances for the human being but up to the present time no great 

 effort has been directed toward finding a corrective article of diet 

 for cattle. A search of information concerning feedstuff shows that 

 little of this material contains iodine in marked quantity. In in- 

 vestigating possible sources of the iodine supply available for stock 

 feeds, the sea foods present themselves as a possibility, but the heavy 

 demand for the usual sea foods makes them prohibitive in price 

 as possible sources of this valuable ingredient. Attending the prep- 

 aration of sea foods for the market there is always a considerable 

 waste, the amount varying with the nature of the fish or shellfish 

 in question. It is from this source of material that one may expect 

 to derive feedstuff in the form of meal that would contain the 

 valuable and desiral)le iodine, together with protein, necessary for 

 cattle feedstuff, for the goiter belt of the Ignited States. 



Among the shellfish, the shrimp is the fourth highest iodine-bear- 

 ing sea food, headed by oysters, clams, and lobsters. The shrimp 

 lends itself admirably to utilization for the above purpose, since 

 from 43 to 45 per cent of the whole shrimp becomes waste ma- 

 terial in the canning of this sea food. xVnalysis of the shrimp meal 

 prepared from the wastes of dried shrimp show about 2.000 ])arts 

 per billion of iodine. In addition to this the meal contains a 



* Iodine Content of Sea Foods (with bibliography) by Donald K. Tressler and Arthur W. 

 Wells. Bureau of Fisheries Document No. 1)67. Appendix I to Report of Commissioner 

 of Fisheries for 1924. 



