Trident Opens Huge New Fishmeal Plant in Naknek
SEAFOODNEWS.COM [Bristol Bay Times] by Hannah Colton (with KDLG’s Matt Martin) April 24, 2015
Bristol Bay’s newest processing plant, a multimillion- dollar fishmeal plant owned by Trident Seafoods of Seattle, will begin operations this month with herring serving as a test run.
Last weekend, workers were wrapping up construction on the new fishmeal plant in Naknek. The facility was still enclosed by unfinished drywall and wooden stairs stood in place of a future elevator. Project Manager Bob Bates stood in front of the largest piece of machinery in the plant: a 50-foot, 60,000-pound dryer.
Bates says the dryer, which looks like a giant rolling pin in the center of the warehouse, was brought in when the site was still mud and dirt, and the building was built up around it.
“The inside of this thing looks like something out of a sci-fi movie, with all the teeth and the blades and everything in it to mix it, and turn it, and churn it through,” said Bates. A quarter mile of tubing will transport all the fish parts left over from filleting or canning – including head, guts, fins, and bones — from Trident’s processing plant to the new $15 million fishmeal plant.
After it is ground and dried, the salmon byproduct may become animal feed or fish oil ...
To Read Full Story Login Below.