Great Lakes fish byproducts hit 24.3 million pounds in new progress report

The Conference of Great Lakes St. Lawrence Governors & Premiers says its first annual report on the 100% Great Lakes Fish initiative shows 24.3 million pounds of fish byproducts are now being reused across the region. The effort is generating about $3.3 million in economic value and cutting an estimated 9.6 million pounds of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions.

Why it matters: - The Great Lakes region is moving more of each fish into productive use instead of landfills or low-value disposal. - GSGP says the shift is creating economic value and lowering emissions at scale. - The initiative is trying to make full fish utilization a regional standard across commercial, aquaculture and recreational fisheries.

What happened: - The Conference of Great Lakes St. Lawrence Governors & Premiers released the first performance report for its 100% Great Lakes Fish initiative. - The report estimates that 24.3 million pounds of fish byproducts are now being productively used in the Great Lakes St. Lawrence region. - The report says those byproducts are generating about $3.4 million in economic value and avoiding about 9.6 million pounds of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions. - The report measures the collective impact of 48 organizations participating in the 100% Great Lakes Fish Pledge.

The details: - Fish byproducts include skin, scales, viscera, heads, tails and other parts that have historically often been landfilled. - Those materials are now being turned into fish meal and oil, pet food and treats, fertilizer, compost, bait and fish leather. - Pledge participants commit to productively use all fish byproducts they handle and not landfill them. - The 48 participating organizations represent about 53% of estimated fish volume across the region’s commercial, aquaculture and recreational fisheries. - By sector, Pledge participants represent about 90% of commercial fishery volume, 55% of aquaculture production and 1% of the recreational fish harvest. - GSGP says commercial fishery participation shows the broadest progress toward full utilization. - Aquaculture producers are also using byproducts productively at a high rate. - Work on recreational fish byproducts is at an earlier stage. - GSGP has started working with fish cleaning stations and fisheries agencies to improve collection, storage, transportation and productive use of recreationally generated material. - The group says those approaches can be replicated at marinas and cleaning stations throughout the region. - The initiative works with fish processors, aquaculture producers, researchers, fisheries agencies, Tribes, recreational fisheries, manufacturers and other partners. - Traditionally, only about 40% of each fish, mostly fillets, is consumed by people.

Between the lines: - The report gives GSGP a baseline to measure progress annually instead of relying on broad sustainability claims. - The strongest gains appear to be where the industry is most consolidated, especially commercial processing. - The biggest remaining challenge is the recreational fishery, where collection systems and handling are less developed. - The initiative’s economic case is tied to turning waste streams into saleable inputs and consumer products.

What's next: - GSGP plans to publish results every year and use them to track progress toward 100% utilization. - The group is expected to keep building collection and handling systems for recreational fish byproducts. - The annual report infographic is available here. - More information on the initiative and pledge is available here.

The bottom line: - The Great Lakes region has moved millions of pounds of fish byproducts into productive use, but the final stretch to full utilization will depend on scaling systems beyond commercial fisheries.