1a.Objectives (from AD-416)
The overall objective of this project is to utilize fish waste as soil amendment for food production. The specific goals are:.
1)to determine optimal carbon and fish waste mix ratio for composting;.
2)to determine nitrogen forms in the fish compost and;.
3)to determine nitrogen release from fish compost.

1b.Approach (from AD-416)
For determining optimal compost conditions for fish waste and carbon sources, fish waste will be composted with various carbon sources such as hay and cardboard, temperature will be monitored during the compost, compost samples will be taken and analyzed for their total nitrogen content. Nitrogen forms in the different fish compost will be ascertained using acid, alkaline and neutral extraction solutions, and amino acids will be investigated. Incubation experiments will be conducted to determine mineral N release in soil. Documents SCA with U. of AK Fairbanks. Formerly 5341-31410-003-11S (12/09).

3.Progress Report

This collaboration was monitored through phone calls, emails and meetings in Fairbanks Alaska with Dr. Zhang and his graduate student.

This research evaluated salmon byproducts as a feedstock for energy production in accordance with ARS project objective #2, “Develop economical processes and methods for the collection, stabilization and storage of raw seafood byproducts to optimize their chemical, nutritional, and physical qualities for uses including food and feed ingredients, fertilizers and bio-chemicals”.

This project is testing whether resultant organic nitrogen compounds from fish composting process will be less recalcitrant than the resultant organic nitrogen compounds from fish hydrolysate process. Three studies test the overarching hypothesis: a fish compost study, a soil incubation study, and a bioindicator field study. Field incubation will provide calibration of laboratory incubation to better estimate available N from fish byproduct in a growing season. A study is underway this summer developing methods to better estimate available N from fish byproducts. Began this summer (2010) the first year of the overlapping, two-year field study in underway. There are four replications of five soil treatments. Three crops were planted across the soil treatment plots (barley, potatoes, and kale). Another study was finished on the analysis of NH4-N and NO3-N in soil samples from incubation of three commercially available fish meal products in fields in Delta Junction and Fairbanks areas. The data is being currently analyzed and a graduate student is working on different fractions of soluble organic N for developing a predictor of available N from fish byproducts. This will help gardeners/farmers better use of fish byproduct as a nutrient source for production. Some of the results have been presented at meetings and as a book chapter.