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Can I use fish to fertilize my garden?

I understand that Native Americans used to use small baitfish to fertilize plants. I'm a fisherman, so I know how to get my hands on fish. There are a number of small fish species in the local lakes and rivers and on on Puget Sound that are absolutely NOT threatened species. Some, invasive species like the Northern Pikeminnow are even a nuisance to Salmon and fishermen are being encouraged to catch them to reduce their numbers to help protect the ecosystem. So, is there a good reason that I can't use fish like these to fertilize my garden? Does it bring rats or raccoons? Or is this just something they told me in grade school like stories about Pocahontas that isn't really true?

I'm not looking for a diatribe about how I shouldn't waste fish and yada yada yada. I would only use nuisance fish species and bycatch, so there is no reason this would be bad for the ecosystem. Also, the scale I'm talking about here would be pretty small (a backyard garden).

But from a gardening perspective, would it work? Would there be any drawbacks?

soundslikepuget asked in Other Gardening about 1 year ago | Report

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    Master Gardener Andrea

    You have a great question. This isn't a simple question to answer since we are all working hard to improve our composting skills. There are many articles available on the internet advising how to use fish as fertilizer. Just be cautious. Here's some information:

    1. According to Seattle Public Utilities “Don’t Compost: Meat, fish, dairy (these attract rats), or pet waste (bag it, and put in trash). For details, see: http://www.seattle.gov/util/services/yard/composting/spu01_001997.asp.

    2.  The following site agrees and says not to use fish in the garden, see http://www.mastercomposter.com/ref/orgmat2.html#fish 2.

    3.  To learn more about how fish fertilizer is processed, check out the following article: http://www.rainyside.com/resources/fishfert.html.

    4.  For general information related to composting in King County, see:  http://your.kingcounty.gov/solidwaste/naturalyardcare/documents/Make_a_Kitchen-Composter.pdf

     I hope this helps you and encourages others with expertise in this area to share their thoughts.  . -Andrea

    Master Gardener Andrea answered in Other Gardening about 1 year ago | Report
    2 comments by soundslikepuget and Master Gardener Andrea…
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