noun
dried herring fertilizer; herring meal fertilizer
A traditional organic fertilizer made by boiling herring, removing the oil, and then drying and pressing the remains. Historically important in Hokkaido and other regions.
かつて北海道では、鰊粕が貴重な肥料として使われていた。
In the past, dried herring fertilizer was used as a valuable fertilizer in Hokkaido.
鰊粕は、ニシンを煮て油を搾り、
Dried herring fertilizer is made by boiling herring, pressing out the oil, and drying and hardening the remains.
油粕 is oil cake (residue after pressing oil from seeds), another organic fertilizer, but 鰊粕 is made from fish, not plant seeds.
Standard kanji spelling using the common character for herring.
Variant kanji spelling for herring; less common than 鰊.
Compound of 鰊 (にしん, 'herring') and 粕 (かす, 'lees, dregs, scrap'). The word describes the leftover pressed material after extracting oil from herring.