Nutrient Composition of Phosphorus Enriched Compost from Seafood Processing Unit Waste

Abstract

Seafood is gaining in popularity because of its health benefits. At the same time, large amounts of fish waste are being generated, mostly from the industrial processing of fish. These large quantities of fish waste have not been utilized efficiently, and the disposal of fish waste can have large negative impacts on local environments.  Unutilized fish waste is often disposed of by land fill or incineration, or by dumping into the sea. Therefore, there is an urgent need to find ecologically acceptable means for reutilization of fish waste. In this study, fish waste samples are collected and characterised. The fish waste was acidic in pH (6.1) with EC of 3.8 dSm-1. The total N, P, K of the fish waste was 10.17, 0.20 and 0.74 % respectively. It also had an appreciable amount of organic carbon content 46.22%. Fish waste was mixed with saw dust (2:1) and Rock Phosphate - Phosphorus (RP-P) at the rate of 0, 2.5, 5, 7.5 and 10 % for enrichment of compost The results showed that the application of different levels of (RP-P) reduce the pH, slightly increased the EC, N,P,K and Organic carbon content.  Thus, rock phosphate enriched fish waste compost could be an alternative and viable technology to manage the solid waste generated from the seafood industries as well as crop production.