(IntraFish) With Sweetwater Biofuels’ Boston Seafood Show debut came the introduction of a new way for seafood companies to make and save money while earning sustainability points -- by selling fish fat off for conversion into biofuel.
The US company turns fish fat and cooking oil into a fuel replacement for number 6 heating oil, which is a syrupy, tar-like substance used to power industrial buildings, ocean liners and tankers. It has been known to collect at the water's edge and cause wildlife mortalities.
The fish fat used comes primarily from catfish producers, but Sweetwater is looking for fat from any fatty species, from salmon to dogfish to lake trout.
With hopes to up its 80 million gallon production rate by 50 percent this year, Alabama-based Sweetwater is “always looking for new facilities,” Sweetwater Biofuels Director of Marketing and Communications Bob Hiller told IntraFish.
"If we see a big enough opportunity within a particular market, we could come to that market and build a facility," he said.
In the past, it took over an old plant that was formerly used by US premium catfish producer, Delta Pride.
Sweetwater buys the fat for $0.10 (€0.08) to $0.50 (€0.38) per pound, but the economic gain is greater when considering themoney saved in waste transport costs.
Once the word got out in Boston, Hiller said interest in the company’s offerings began to increase.
“We were in a very quiet corner of that show, and at first I was thinking ‘are we going to be standing by ourselves for three days?’” Hiller said. “And all the sudden, word started to get around; ‘there are some guys at 390 that will pay you for your waste.’”
In the wake of the show, calls of interest have streamed in.
“We’re providing jobs, we’re bringing in the green industry and we’re taking care of this waste problem that no one has ever been able to do anything about,” Hiller said.