Ocean at risk as wind tears wall off rancid Newfoundland fish sauce plant, says mayor

By Canadian Press on January 17, 2026.

ST. JOHN’S — A Newfoundland mayor says a foul-smelling abandoned fish-sauce factory is now an environmental emergency after high winds tore the front wall off the crumbling building on Friday night.

The decaying Atlantic Seafood Sauce Company Ltd. building is just steps away from the ocean in St. Mary’s and Mayor Steve Ryan says the wall closest to the water was destroyed.

He says nothing much is left to protect the water and nearby fishing grounds from more than 100 vats of fermented, congealed fish that have been oozing inside the plant fore more than two decades.

Ryan says he hopes the Canadian Coast Guard or some other federal agency will offer some help.

The smell from the decrepit factory has long tormented the town when the wind blows onshore, and Ryan says the stench will likely be worse without the front wall to contain it.

The factory opened in 1990 but legal battles forced the owner to abandon it about a decade later.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 17, 2026.

The Canadian Press