Last Updated on August 30, 2022 by Christopher G Mendla

The fish factory processed Bunker. It was very active in the 1970’s. At some point after that, it ceased operations.

The Fish Factory is located on Crab Island  across Newman’s Thorofare from the old Little Egg Coast Guard Station , now Rutgers. It’s water tower was a great landmark for boaters in the days before GPS and even Loran.

The waters between the old Coast Guard Station and the Fish Factory was a good spot for fishing for kingfish and bluefish. When it was operational, there would be fishing boats at the docks offloading their hauls of bunker, an oily fish used for bait. There was a small landing strip where planes were based to scout for the schools of bunker. The smell emanating from the island was strong and memorable. This earned the facility the names of “Stinkhouse” and “Stink Island”

After it ceased operations and was abandoned, it began to slowly decay. The photo below was from about 2005. The place has suffered a lot more deterioration.

Videos and drone footage

The youtube below is a drone video of the island and buildings. (part 1)

The video below is of a few Kayakers who explored the island. It is slightly corny but it shows some close ups of the remains of the facility

Part 3 shows more details of the remaining buildings and equipment

Another drone video of the island and remains of the structures. 

Other photos of the Abandoned Fish Factory

Access to the island is restricted but some people have managed to get photos of the remains

• The Stink House on Crab Island
• The Tuckerton Fish Factory (Fuzzy images)