BULLETIN OF THE 
No. 150 
Contribution from the Bureau of Soils, Milton S. Whitney, Chief. 
January 23, 1915. 
UTILIZATION OF THE FISH WASTE OF THE PACIFIC 
COAST FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF FERTILIZER. 
By J. W. TUREENTINE, 
Scientist in Soil Laboratory Investigations. 
CONTENTS. 
Page. 
Introduction 1 
Technology of canning 4 
Production of canned salmon 12 
Centers of the industry 13 
The waste produced in the canning 
of salmon 16 
Other salmon-preserving industries 22 
Chemical composition of the raw- 
cannery waste 23 
Methods of disposal of waste 25 
Amount of waste utilized in the 
various centers 27 
Page. 
Fish scrap from salmon waste 28 
The products 32 
Methods proposed for the treatment 
of salmon cannery waste on a 
large scale 36 
The small by-products plant oper- 
ated as an integral part of the 
cannery 44 
Cost 49 
The production of a mixed fertilizer 
from fish scrap and kelp 52 
Fish scrap from other fish 66 
INTRODUCTION. 
In pursuance of the investigation by the Bureau of Soils of the 
fertilizer resources of the United States, the fisheries of the Pacific 
coast, particularly the salmon-canning industry, were examined dur- 
ing the summer of 1913 to determine the possibility of developing 
a source of fertilizer materials in the waste produced in that industry. 
The purpose of this investigation was (1) to determine the amount 
of waste and the places where produced, and (2) the possibilities of 
its utilization as a source of fertilizer. Obviously, it is of little inter- 
est to know the fertilizer resources of the country without knowing 
how they may be utilized; the possibility of their utilization deter- 
mines their value as resources. A third aspect was given the investi- 
gation by the problem of determining possible ways in which waste 
fish could be conserved in conjunction with that other vast source of 
fertilizer materials, now practically untouched, the giant kelps of 
the Pacific coast. 
Note. — This bulletin discusses the utilization of fish waste in the salmon-canning and 
similar industries on the Pacific coast as a source of fertilizer material. 
59351°— Bull. 150—15 1 
