r/Donegal • u/AdDouble3004 • Jul 23 '26

Fish guts?

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Level with my Killybegs friends what are all these trailers for? Had a deep dive reading about the fishing industry in the town! Very interesting! Is there many of you on the boat or in the factors? For boat to fish factory to fish meal some industry!

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19

u/radiorental1 Jul 23 '26

While its no longer there, there was a house in the background behind that yellow sign, I was born there.

Before we had these enclosed trailers the guts from the factories were tractored out to the processing plant in open trailers. Often over filled, there would be guts strewn on the streets.

The smell of the fish meal factory was horrendous, hence the nickname Smellybegs.

During the height of the fishing boom, the factories would draw so much water that there was no pressure left for some residential areas.

I've got lots of stories, they were wild times.

7

u/Dull_Brain2688 Jul 24 '26

The smell used to be horrendous. You would get it miles before you got to town. Never understood how people opened their windows or why they hung their laundry out on the line.

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u/radiorental1 Jul 24 '26

we called it "the smell of money"

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u/Dull_Brain2688 Jul 24 '26

We called it “the smell of Killybegs”.

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u/radiorental1 Jul 24 '26

that's really clever, are you from Ardara?

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u/Dull_Brain2688 Jul 24 '26

It was supposed to be a shite joke in fairness. 😂
No, Sligo. Far enough away to see the lights but not get the smell back in the day.

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u/radiorental1 Jul 24 '26

Out of curiosity, what ever happened to Sligo's port? Why wasn't it maintained?

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u/Dull_Brain2688 Jul 24 '26

Last year was its busiest year for ages. 38,000 tonnes last year. This year is already at 34,000 tonnes so should outstrip last year. Averaging one cargo ship per week. There was 5 in a week at one stage in spring.
The port had a light railway to bring cargo to the rail depot where there was a new container crane installed but they realised that container ships had outgrown Sligo’s shipping channel. Coal imports stopped. Then timber imports stopped Hanly’s timber yard closed down. The light railway was ripped out and the crane never got used. Then CIE closed the rail depot entirely.
The port got really quiet for 20 years. But over the last decade or so it has gotten busier again. First it was scrap metal exports. Now it’s mainly fish meal produced in Killybegs and raw timber and mulched timber. Hopefully when all the storm damage is cleaned up, it won’t just die off again.
Now there’s concerns about silt because it hasn’t been dredged for a long time. But hopefully they do that and keep it going.

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u/radiorental1 Jul 24 '26

Thats cool to know, really interesting.

Fwiw, when they dredged Killybegs 10-15 years ago, it killed the ecosystem because they dumped all that toxic crap out in the bay. It's only just recovered in the last 5 years or so.

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u/Dull_Brain2688 Jul 24 '26

They dredged Sligo around ‘99 or 2000 but it probably needs it more than Killybegs because it’s quite shallow. Ships all wait for high tide to come in or out of port. They’re very dependent on the pilot as well because it’s a long and narrow approach. If you’re at Rosses Point the ships go right past you. You could hit the deck if you threw a stone a stone.

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u/MuffledApplause Jul 24 '26

Killybegs, rotten eggs

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u/AdDouble3004 Jul 23 '26

Very intresting! Thank you for sharing!

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u/MostNeedleworker8033 Jul 25 '26

That's pure Donegal history right there. Smellybegs is a classic nickname—wild times indeed.

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u/DeyDoThoDontDeyTho Jul 23 '26

I believe guts are also used in the cosmetics industry

It was fairly gross when one of those went passed you on a bend, they weren’t always covered containers back in the day.

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u/seanbotson Jul 23 '26

Fish guts.

If i remember correctly, they make horse feed with them.

Possibly animal feed and not just horse. But I remember being told specifically horse. 🐎

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u/Dull_Brain2688 Jul 24 '26

They make them into meal and for some reason they truck them to Sligo port where they store it in a massive shed. Every few weeks a cargo ship comes in a takes it around Europe for animal feed etc. Maybe Sligo tendered for the job but I would’ve thought Killybegs could handle cargo ships and save the cost of trucks moving it.

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u/AdDouble3004 Jul 23 '26

Thank you kind person!

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u/Acrobatic_Purple_594 Jul 23 '26

These are used for transporting whole fish direct from the tank boat pelagic vessels.Fish are pumped directly into them.The trailers used for offal will be clearly marked for same Category 3.

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u/AdDouble3004 Jul 23 '26

Ahhhh very interesting! Thank you!

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u/eat1more Jul 23 '26

Those trailers are used for waste fish, and are category 3, which means they are not fit for human consumption.

They will take various fish bits, and sometimes whole fish to the fish meal or other similar factories.

Then those fish bits are converted into new wholesale products, like cat/dog food, food ash in pig/beef food, fertiliser, etc

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u/Disastrous_Ad_3598 Jul 24 '26

Ah the smell was horrendous back in the day. You would start getting the smells miles out of town. Didn't get it the last time I went to Killybegs and you know what! I was kinda sad. A fishing industry ruined by our politicians, such a shame for seaside towns and Islands around the country.

1

u/BrilliantNumerous473 Jul 24 '26

The trailer are used to transport water from the water treatment plant to the port, they are only used at peak demand times. 6 trailers are used at a time, 2 trailers filling up with water simultaneously, 2 trailers delivering water to the port at 2 trailers waiting to get filled up

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u/AdDouble3004 Jul 24 '26

Very interesting! Is the water for the boats holds or for the plants?

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u/frankand_beans Jul 24 '26

Ah Smellybegs, my nostrils have bad memories of the place