Hundreds of tanks of foul fish sauce finally cleared from Newfoundland town

A $1.2 million project is underway to drain and dispose of more than 100 tanks of rotting fish sauce that have plagued St. Mary’s, Newfoundland, for over two decades.

In the small Newfoundland community of St. Mary’s, more than 100 tanks of foul-smelling fish sauce have finally been slated for removal after lingering since the Atlantic Seafood Sauce Company closed more than twenty years ago. The $1,210,000 cleanup, overseen by Sharp Management’s owner Glenn Sharp, will involve draining each 3,000-gallon tank, mixing the contents with peat moss to absorb the liquid, and then transporting the mixture to a high-density-polyethylene-lined pit for burial.

Volunteer mayor Steve Ryan, who once worked at the plant, said the town had to secure a $198,000 loan to fund the operation, noting that provincial and federal authorities offered no financial aid. The stench had long affected the roughly 300-person community, with the factory’s roof blown off and a wall destroyed by a storm in January. Ryan called the effort a long-overdue relief for residents who felt abandoned by higher levels of government. Sharp labeled the waste “special” because it does not fall under any existing hazardous-material categories.