Scoular, Da Yang Seafood and Bornstein Seafoods opened a new fishmeal facility to upcycle fish trimmings. The trimmings will be processed into fishmeal and fish oil in the $17.5 million facility in Oregon starting in early 2023.

A new fishmeal processing facility in this Pacific Northwest community is the first of its kind to open in North America in at least 25 years.

The facility’s owners – Scoular, Da Yang Seafood, and Bornstein Seafoods – celebrated with a ribbon-cutting event. The facility is located at the Port of Astoria’s Airport Industrial Park.

The facility will upcycle Da Yang and Bornstein fish trimmings from their nearby seafood processing plants. The trimmings will be processed into fishmeal and fish oil, valuable ingredients in the pet food and aquaculture markets and both marketed under Scoular’s Encompass™ brand. Processing will begin in early 2023.

Scoular, a global agribusiness based in Nebraska, is among the world’s largest and most diverse fishmeal and fish oil suppliers. Growth in the aquaculture and pet food industries has increased the demand for fishmeal, which delivers highly digestible protein.

“Our new joint venture meets this demand through innovation and by bringing together two longtime local businesses with Scoular to create a sustainable protein ingredient for pet food and aquafeed,” said Scoular CEO Paul Maass.

The $17.5 million facility, the first tenant of the Port of Astoria’s Industrial Park, has helped to drive the park’s development. The construction project alone has added $5.4 million into the local economy, according to estimates.