The province of Newfoundland and Labrador started removing about 900,000 liters of fish sauce from 110 vats at an abandoned factory in St. Mary's, a town of roughly 300 people on the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador. The sauce was being produced by the Atlantic Seafood Sauce Company beginning in 1990, using capelin fish and salt in a process that normally takes about a year. The company ceased operations in 2001 after regulatory issues, leaving the vats sealed and the sauce to ferment for more than two decades. The town's residents have long complained about a strong odor that has required them to board up windows and keep laundry indoors during summer months. The cleanup, funded with a $2 million provincial budget, is being carried out by a local engineering firm. Workers have opened the vats, causing the viscous liquid to flow onto the factory floor, and plan to mix the material with peat moss before transporting it in roughly 200 truckloads to a lined landfill where it will be sealed. Mayor Steve Ryan expressed relief, saying the long‑standing moniker of "sauce plant mayor" would end once the work is complete. The project's lead engineer described the material as a mixture of liquid sauce and fish solids that will be combined with peat moss and disposed of in a landfill sealed with polyethylene. Food scientist Bryan Quoc Le, who has expertise in chemistry and Vietnamese cuisine, explained that the high salt content inhibits pathogen growth and that the extended fermentation may have produced amines and other volatile compounds that create strong odors. Le noted that the process differs from typical fish sauce production, which usually lasts one to two years, and that the chemical reactions that occur over many years could generate complex flavor compounds that are not yet documented. Authorities have not indicated any health hazards, and the cleanup is expected to finish in October. The removal marks the end of a two‑decade environmental issue for St. Mary's, and the site will be cleared for other uses after the waste is disposed.