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In addition to preservation, fish can be
industrially processed into a wide array of
products to increase their economic value and allow
the fishing industry and exporting countries to
reap the full benefits of their aquatic resources.
In addition, value processes generate further
employment and hard currency earnings. This is more
important nowadays because of societal changes that
have led to the development of outdoor catering,
convenience products and food services requiring
fish products ready to eat or requiring little
preparation before serving.
However, despite the availability of technology,
careful consideration should be given to the
economic feasibility aspects, including
distribution, marketing, quality assurance and
trade barriers, before embarking on a value
addition fish process.
An example of value addition is the production
of surimi and surimi-based products. Surimi is a
mechanically deboned, washed (bleached) and
stabilised fish flesh. It is an intermediate
product used in the preparation of a variety of
ready to eat seafood such as Kamaboko, fish
sausage, crab legs and imitation shrimp products.
Surimi-based products are gaining more prominence
worldwide, because of the emergence of Japanese
restaurants and culinary traditions in North
America, Europe and elsewhere. Ideally, surimi
should be made from low-value, white-fleshed fish
with excellent gelling ability and which are
abundant and available year-round. At present,
Alaskan pollack accounts for a large proportion of
the surimi supply. Other species, such as sardine,
mackerel, barracuda, striped mullet have been
successfully used for surimi production.
Another important sea resource is seaweed.
Around 6 million metric tonnes of wet seaweed are
harvested annually. Increasing demand over the last
fifty years has led to the development, through
research, of cultivation industries that now
produce more than 90% of the market's demand. In
addition to its use for food, seaweed are harvested
to industrially extract thickening agents such as
alginate, agar and carrageenan or to produce a
dried and powdered brown seaweed, used as an
additive to animal feed.
Also, a significant proportion of the world
catch (20 percent) is still processed into fish
meal and fish oil. Fish meal is a ground solid
product that is obtained by removing most of the
water and some or all of the oil from fish or fish
waste. This industry was launched in the 19th
century, based mainly on surplus catches of herring
from seasonal coastal fisheries to produce oil for
industrial uses in leather tanning and in the
production of soap, glycerol and other non-food
products. Presently, it uses small oily fish to
produce fishmeal and oil. It is worthy to mention
that, only where it is uneconomic or impracticable
for human consumption, should the catch be reduced
to fishmeal and oil. Indeed, cycling fish through
poultry or pigs is a loss because there is a need
for 3 kg of edible fish to produce approximately 1
kg of edible chicken or pork.
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