Fish waste disposal

What you must do

Disposal

If you dispose of dead fish or shellfish or animal waste from, culling or on-site processing of fish or shellfish, you must meet the requirements of the Animal By-Products Regulations (ABPR). These regulations control collection, transport, storage, handling, processing, use and disposal of animal carcasses or parts of animal carcasses.

Animal by-products and food waste

You must not landfill or bury fish waste.

Incineration

If you operate an on-farm incinerator that only burns on-farm fish mortalities and processing waste you must ensure the incinerator is approved by:

• Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) in Northern Ireland.
• Animal and Plant Health Agency in Scotland

Northern Ireland: Divisional Veterinary Offices

Scotland: Animal and Plant Health Agency

If you burn animal waste, your incinerator must be authorised by your local council or your environmental regulator, in addition to Animal Health or DAERA.

• Pollution prevention and control permits in Northern Ireland
• Do you need an EASR waste authorisation in Scotland?

Ensiling in Scotland

In Scotland, ensiling macerated fish waste in formic acid is one of the main methods of waste disposal.

You may need a EASR authorisation from SEPA if you operate an ensiling facility or store dead fish or fish offal. You will need a:

• an EASR registration for the ensiling of dead fish or fish offal, including the storage of the ensiled liquor at the same location below 10m³
• an EASR permit for the ensiling of dead fish or fish offal, including the storage of the ensiled liquor at the same location above 10m³

SEPA: Agriculture and food industries industrial activities

Contact your environmental regulator

You must comply with the conditions of your authorisation and ensure that liquid wastes:

• are stored securely on your site while they await disposal or recovery
• cannot escape into drains, watercourses or surrounding ground
• spills can be properly and effectively contained.

Good practice

Clean shells are classed as animal by-products, but there is an exemption that may allow you to use them as a marketable product for use in construction, drainage and gardening.

Further information

In Scotland, the Scottish Government has set up the Fish Waste Management Group (FWMG) to develop a more sustainable strategy for fish waste management.

Seafish.org: Information on the disposal of seafood waste

SEE ALSO: GPP 21 Pollution incident response plans  and Duty of Care