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The term fish processing refers to the processes associated with fish and fish products between the time fish are caught or harvested, and the time the final product is delivered to the customer. Although the term refers specifically to fish, in practice it is extended to cover any
aquatic organisms Aquatic means relating to water; living in or near water or taking place in water; does not include groundwater, as "aquatic" implies an environment where plants and animals live. Aquatic(s) may also refer to: * Aquatic animal, either vertebrate ...
harvested for commercial purposes, whether caught in
wild fisheries A wild fishery is a natural body of water with a sizeable free-ranging fish or other aquatic animal (crustaceans and molluscs) population that can be harvested for its commercial value. Wild fisheries can be marine ( saltwater) or lacustrine/r ...
or harvested from
aquaculture Aquaculture (less commonly spelled aquiculture), also known as aquafarming, is the controlled cultivation ("farming") of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, mollusks, algae and other organisms of value such as aquatic plants (e.g. lot ...
or
fish farming upright=1.3, Salmon farming in the sea (mariculture) at Loch Ainort, Isle of Skye">mariculture.html" ;"title="Salmon farming in the sea (mariculture">Salmon farming in the sea (mariculture) at Loch Ainort, Isle of Skye, Scotland Fish farming o ...
. Larger fish processing companies often operate their own
fishing fleet A fishing fleet is an aggregate of commercial fishing vessels. The term may be used of all vessels operating out of a particular port, all vessels engaged in a particular type of fishing (as in the "tuna fishing fleet"), or all fishing vessels of ...
s or farming operations. The products of the fish industry are usually sold to grocery chains or to intermediaries. Fish are highly perishable. A central concern of fish processing is to prevent fish from deteriorating, and this remains an underlying concern during other processing operations. Fish processing can be subdivided into fish handling, which is the preliminary processing of raw fish, and the manufacture of fish products. Another natural subdivision is into primary processing involved in the filleting and freezing of fresh fish for onward distribution to fresh fish retail and catering outlets, and the secondary processing that produces chilled, frozen and canned products for the retail and catering trades. There is evidence humans have been processing fish since the early
Holocene The Holocene ( ) is the current geological epoch. It began approximately 11,650 cal years Before Present (), after the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene togeth ...
. These days, fish processing is undertaken by artisan fishermen, on board
fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from fish stocking, stocked bodies of water such as fish pond, ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. ...
or fish processing vessels, and at fish processing plants.


Overview

Fish is a highly perishable food which needs proper handling and preservation if it is to have a long shelf life and retain a desirable quality and nutritional value.FAO
Handling of fish and fish products
Fisheries and aquaculture department, Rome. Updated 27 May 2005. Retrieved 14 March 2011.
The central concern of fish processing is to prevent fish from deteriorating. The most obvious method for preserving the quality of fish is to keep them alive until they are ready for cooking and eating. For thousands of years, China achieved this through the aquaculture of
carp Carp are various species of oily freshwater fish from the family Cyprinidae, a very large group of fish native to Europe and Asia. While carp is consumed in many parts of the world, they are generally considered an invasive species in parts of ...
. Other methods used to preserve fish and fish products includeFAO
Processing fish and fish products
Fisheries and aquaculture department, Rome. Updated 31 October 2001. Retrieved 14 March 2011.
* ikejime method of
fish slaughter Fish slaughter is the process of killing fish, typically after harvesting at sea or from fish farms. At least one trillion fish are slaughtered each year for human consumption. Some relatively humane slaughter methods have been developed, including ...
*the control of temperature using ice, refrigeration or freezing * the control of water activity by drying, salting,
smoking Smoking is a practice in which a substance is burned and the resulting smoke is typically breathed in to be tasted and absorbed into the bloodstream. Most commonly, the substance used is the dried leaves of the tobacco plant, which have b ...
or
freeze-drying Freeze drying, also known as lyophilization or cryodesiccation, is a low temperature dehydration process that involves freezing the product and lowering pressure, removing the ice by sublimation. This is in contrast to dehydration by most conve ...
* the physical control of
microbial A microorganism, or microbe,, ''mikros'', "small") and ''organism'' from the el, ὀργανισμός, ''organismós'', "organism"). It is usually written as a single word but is sometimes hyphenated (''micro-organism''), especially in olde ...
loads through microwave heating or ionizing irradiation * the chemical control of microbial loads by adding acids * oxygen deprivation, such as
vacuum packing Vacuum packing is a method of packaging that removes air from the package prior to sealing. This method involves placing items in a plastic film package, removing air from inside and sealing the package. Shrink film is sometimes used to have a tig ...
. Usually more than one of these methods is used. When chilled or frozen fish or fish products are transported by road, rail, sea or air, the cold chain must be maintained. This requires insulated containers or transport vehicles and adequate refrigeration. Modern
shipping container A shipping container is a container with strength suitable to withstand shipment, storage, and handling. Shipping containers range from large reusable steel boxes used for intermodal shipments to the ubiquitous corrugated boxes. In the context of ...
s can combine refrigeration with a controlled atmosphere. Fish processing is also concerned with proper
waste management Waste management or waste disposal includes the processes and actions required to manage waste from its inception to its final disposal. This includes the collection, transport, treatment and disposal of waste, together with monitorin ...
and with adding value to fish products. There is an increasing demand for ready to eat fish products, or products that do not need much preparation.


Handling the catch

When fish are captured or harvested for commercial purposes, they need some preprocessing so they can be delivered to the next part of the marketing chain in a fresh and undamaged condition. This means, for example, that fish caught by a
fishing vessel A fishing vessel is a boat or ship used to catch fish in the sea, or on a lake or river. Many different kinds of vessels are used in commercial, artisanal and recreational fishing. The total number of fishing vessels in the world in 2016 was ...
need handling so they can be stored safely until the boat lands the fish on shore. Typical handling processes are * transferring the catch from the fishing gear (such as a
trawl Trawling is a method of fishing that involves pulling a fishing net through the water behind one or more boats. The net used for trawling is called a trawl. This principle requires netting bags which are towed through water to catch different spec ...
, net or fishing line) to the
fishing vessel A fishing vessel is a boat or ship used to catch fish in the sea, or on a lake or river. Many different kinds of vessels are used in commercial, artisanal and recreational fishing. The total number of fishing vessels in the world in 2016 was ...
* holding the catch before further handling * sorting and grading * bleeding, gutting and washing * chilling * storing the chilled fish * unloading, or landing the fish when the fishing vessel returns to port The number and order in which these operations are undertaken varies with the fish species and the type of fishing gear used to catch it, as well as how large the fishing vessel is and how long it is at sea, and the nature of the market it is supplying. Catch processing operations can be manual or automated. The equipment and procedures in modern industrial fisheries are designed to reduce the rough handling of fish, heavy manual lifting and unsuitable working positions which might result in injuries.


Handling live fish

An alternative, and obvious way of keeping fish fresh is to keep them alive until they are delivered to the buyer or ready to be eaten. This is a common practice worldwide. Typically, the fish are placed in a container with clean water, and dead, damaged or sick fish are removed. The water temperature is then lowered and the fish are starved to reduce their
metabolic rate Metabolism (, from el, μεταβολή ''metabolē'', "change") is the set of life-sustaining chemical reactions in organisms. The three main functions of metabolism are: the conversion of the energy in food to energy available to run cell ...
. This decreases fouling of water with metabolic products (ammonia, nitrite and carbon dioxide) that become toxic and make it difficult for the fish to extract oxygen. Fish can be kept alive in floating cages, wells and
fish pond A fish pond or fishpond is a controlled pond, small artificial lake or retention basin that is stocked with fish and is used in aquaculture for fish farming, for recreational fishing, or for ornamental purposes. Fish ponds are a classical ...
s. In
aquaculture Aquaculture (less commonly spelled aquiculture), also known as aquafarming, is the controlled cultivation ("farming") of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, mollusks, algae and other organisms of value such as aquatic plants (e.g. lot ...
, holding basins are used where the water is continuously filtered and its temperature and oxygen level are controlled. In China, floating cages are constructed in rivers out of palm woven baskets, while in South America simple fish yards are built in the backwaters of rivers. Live fish can be transported by methods which range from simple
artisanal An artisan (from french: artisan, it, artigiano) is a skilled craft worker who makes or creates material objects partly or entirely by hand. These objects may be functional or strictly decorative, for example furniture, decorative art, ...
methods where fish are placed in plastic bags with an oxygenated atmosphere, to sophisticated systems which use trucks that filter and recycle the water, and add oxygen and regulate temperature.


Preservation

Preservation Preservation may refer to: Heritage and conservation * Preservation (library and archival science), activities aimed at prolonging the life of a record while making as few changes as possible * ''Preservation'' (magazine), published by the Nat ...
techniques are needed to prevent fish spoilage and lengthen
shelf life Shelf life is the length of time that a commodity may be stored without becoming unfit for use, consumption, or sale. In other words, it might refer to whether a commodity should no longer be on a pantry shelf (unfit for use), or no longer on a ...
. They are designed to inhibit the activity of spoilage
bacteria Bacteria (; singular: bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one biological cell. They constitute a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria were am ...
and the
metabolic Metabolism (, from el, μεταβολή ''metabolē'', "change") is the set of life-sustaining chemical reactions in organisms. The three main functions of metabolism are: the conversion of the energy in food to energy available to run cell ...
changes that result in the loss of fish quality. Spoilage bacteria are the specific bacteria that produce the unpleasant odours and flavours associated with spoiled fish. Fish normally host many bacteria that are not spoilage bacteria, and most of the bacteria present on spoiled fish played no role in the spoilage. To flourish, bacteria need the right temperature, sufficient water and oxygen, and surroundings that are not too acidic. Preservation techniques work by interrupting one or more of these needs. Preservation techniques can be classified as follows.FAO
Preservation techniques
Fisheries and aquaculture department, Rome. Updated 27 May 2005. Retrieved 14 March 2011.


Control of temperature

If the temperature is decreased, the metabolic activity in the fish from
microbial A microorganism, or microbe,, ''mikros'', "small") and ''organism'' from the el, ὀργανισμός, ''organismós'', "organism"). It is usually written as a single word but is sometimes hyphenated (''micro-organism''), especially in olde ...
or
autolytic In biology, autolysis, more commonly known as self-digestion, refers to the destruction of a cell through the action of its own enzymes. It may also refer to the digestion of an enzyme by another molecule of the same enzyme. The term derives from ...
processes can be reduced or stopped. This is achieved by
refrigeration The term refrigeration refers to the process of removing heat from an enclosed space or substance for the purpose of lowering the temperature.International Dictionary of Refrigeration, http://dictionary.iifiir.org/search.phpASHRAE Terminology, ht ...
where the temperature is dropped to about 0 °C, or
freezing Freezing is a phase transition where a liquid turns into a solid when its temperature is lowered below its freezing point. In accordance with the internationally established definition, freezing means the solidification phase change of a liquid ...
where the temperature is dropped below -18 °C. On fishing vessels, the fish are refrigerated mechanically by circulating cold air or by packing the fish in boxes with ice.
Forage fish Forage fish, also called prey fish or bait fish, are small pelagic fish which are preyed on by larger predators for food. Predators include other larger fish, seabirds and marine mammals. Typical ocean forage fish feed near the base of the f ...
, which are often caught in large numbers, are usually chilled with refrigerated or chilled seawater. Once chilled or frozen, the fish need further cooling to maintain the low temperature. There are key issues with fish cold store design and management, such as how large and energy efficient they are, and the way they are insulated and
pallet A pallet (also called a skid) is a flat transport structure, which supports goods in a stable fashion while being lifted by a forklift, a pallet jack, a front loader, a jacking device, or an erect crane. A pallet is the structural founda ...
ized. An effective method of preserving the freshness of fish is to chill with ice by distributing ice uniformly around the fish. It is a safe cooling method that keeps the fish moist and in an easily stored form suitable for transport. It has become widely used since the development of mechanical
refrigeration The term refrigeration refers to the process of removing heat from an enclosed space or substance for the purpose of lowering the temperature.International Dictionary of Refrigeration, http://dictionary.iifiir.org/search.phpASHRAE Terminology, ht ...
, which makes ice easy and cheap to produce. Ice is produced in various shapes; crushed ice and Flake Ice, plates, tubes and blocks are commonly used to cool fish. Particularly effective is slurry ice, made from micro crystals of ice formed and suspended within a solution of water and a freezing point depressant, such as common salt. A more recent development is pumpable ice technology. Pumpable ice flows like water, and because it is
homogeneous Homogeneity and heterogeneity are concepts often used in the sciences and statistics relating to the uniformity of a substance or organism. A material or image that is homogeneous is uniform in composition or character (i.e. color, shape, siz ...
, it cools fish faster than fresh water solid ice methods and eliminates freeze burns. It complies with HACCP and ISO food safety and public health standards, and uses less energy than conventional fresh water solid ice technologies. File:Fish Packed in Ice.jpg, Fish packed in ice File:sunwell fish packing pumpable slurry ice.JPG, Fish chilling with slurry ice. File:Fish cooling by Pumpable Ice.jpg, Fish cooling by
pumpable ice Pumpable ice technology (PIT) uses thin liquids, with the cooling capacity of ice. Pumpable ice is typically a slurry of ice crystals or particles ranging from 5 micrometers to 1 cm in diameter and transported in brine, seawater, food liquid ...
File:Zhuhai-fishing-port-Loading-ice-0707.jpg, Loading blocks of factory-made ice from a truck to an ice depot boat File:Ice house, Pittenweem - geograph.org.uk - 602960.jpg, Ice delivered to boat down an Archimedes screw, Pittenweem


Control of water activity

The water activity, aw, in a fish is defined as the ratio of the water vapour pressure in the flesh of the fish to the vapour pressure of pure water at the same temperature and pressure. It ranges between 0 and 1, and is a parameter that measures how available the water is in the flesh of the fish. Available water is necessary for the microbial and enzymatic reactions involved in spoilage. There are a number of techniques that have been or are used to tie up the available water or remove it by reducing the aw. Traditionally, techniques such as
drying Drying is a mass transfer process consisting of the removal of water or another solvent by evaporation from a solid, semi-solid or liquid. This process is often used as a final production step before selling or packaging products. To be consid ...
, salting and
smoking Smoking is a practice in which a substance is burned and the resulting smoke is typically breathed in to be tasted and absorbed into the bloodstream. Most commonly, the substance used is the dried leaves of the tobacco plant, which have b ...
have been used, and have been used for thousands of years. These techniques can be very simple, for example, by using solar drying. In more recent times,
freeze-drying Freeze drying, also known as lyophilization or cryodesiccation, is a low temperature dehydration process that involves freezing the product and lowering pressure, removing the ice by sublimation. This is in contrast to dehydration by most conve ...
, water binding
humectant A humectant is a hygroscopic (water-absorbing) substance used to keep things moist. They are used in many products, including food, cosmetics, medicines and pesticides. When used as a food additive, a humectant has the effect of keeping moistur ...
s, and fully automated equipment with temperature and humidity control have been added. Often a combination of these techniques is used. File:COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Vrouwen tijdens het drogen van vis TMnr 20018454.jpg, Women drying fish, 1971 File:BD Mohanganj 6.jpg, Dry fish market at Mohanganj File:Stockfisch in Iceland 2005.JPG, Drying
stockfish Stockfish is unsalted fish, especially cod, dried by cold air and wind on wooden racks (which are called "hjell" in Norway) on the foreshore. The drying of food is the world's oldest known preservation method, and dried fish has a storage lif ...
in Iceland File:Carlb-nfld-codflakes.jpg, Platforms, called fish flakes, where cod dry in the sun before being packed in salt
File:Usines de Salaison I Neapolis.JPG, Remains of Roman fish-salting plant at Neapolis File:Tunisie Néapolis musée 8.jpg, Reconstruction of the Roman fish-salting plant at Neapolis File:Malpe(24-1-08).JPG, Drying salted fish at Malpe Harbour File:Salt fish dip 070826-292 mank.jpg, Salt fish dip at
Jakarta Jakarta (; , bew, Jakarte), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta ( id, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta) is the capital city, capital and list of Indonesian cities by population, largest city of Indonesia. Lying on the northwest coa ...


Physical control of microbial loads

Heat or ionizing irradiation can be used to kill the
bacteria Bacteria (; singular: bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one biological cell. They constitute a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria were am ...
that cause decomposition. Heat is applied by cooking, blanching or microwave heating in a manner that pasteurizes or sterilizes fish products. Cooking or pasteurizing does not completely inactivate microorganisms and may need to be followed with refrigeration to preserve fish products and increase their shelf life. Sterilised products are stable at ambient temperatures up to 40 °C, but to ensure they remain sterilized they need packaging in metal cans or retortable pouches before the heat treatment.


Chemical control of microbial loads

Microbial growth and proliferation can be inhibited by a technique called
biopreservation Biopreservation is the use of natural or controlled microbiota or antimicrobials as a way of preserving food and extending its shelf life. The biopreservation of food, especially utilizing lactic acid bacteria (LAB) that are inhibitory to food s ...
. Biopreservation is achieved by adding
antimicrobial An antimicrobial is an agent that kills microorganisms or stops their growth. Antimicrobial medicines can be grouped according to the microorganisms they act primarily against. For example, antibiotics are used against bacteria, and antifungals ar ...
s or by increasing the
acidity In computer science, ACID ( atomicity, consistency, isolation, durability) is a set of properties of database transactions intended to guarantee data validity despite errors, power failures, and other mishaps. In the context of databases, a ...
of the fish muscle. Most bacteria stop multiplying when the pH is less than 4.5. Acidity is increased by
fermentation Fermentation is a metabolic process that produces chemical changes in organic substrates through the action of enzymes. In biochemistry, it is narrowly defined as the extraction of energy from carbohydrates in the absence of oxygen. In food p ...
,
marination Marinating is the process of soaking foods in a seasoned, often acidic, liquid before cooking. The origin of the word alludes to the use of brine (''aqua marina'' or sea water) in the pickling process, which led to the technique of adding flavo ...
or by directly adding acids (acetic, citric, lactic) to fish products. Lactic acid bacteria produce the antimicrobial nisin which further enhances preservation. Other preservatives include
nitrite The nitrite ion has the chemical formula . Nitrite (mostly sodium nitrite) is widely used throughout chemical and pharmaceutical industries. The nitrite anion is a pervasive intermediate in the nitrogen cycle in nature. The name nitrite also ...
s,
sulphite Sulfites or sulphites are compounds that contain the sulfite ion (or the sulfate(IV) ion, from its correct systematic name), . The sulfite ion is the conjugate base of bisulfite. Although its acid (sulfurous acid) is elusive, its salts are wide ...
s, sorbates,
benzoate Benzoic acid is a white (or colorless) solid organic compound with the formula , whose structure consists of a benzene ring () with a carboxyl () substituent. It is the simplest aromatic carboxylic acid. The name is derived from gum benzoin, wh ...
s and
essential oil An essential oil is a concentrated hydrophobic liquid containing volatile (easily evaporated at normal temperatures) chemical compounds from plants. Essential oils are also known as volatile oils, ethereal oils, aetheroleum, or simply as the o ...
s.


Control of the oxygen reduction potential

Spoilage bacteria and
lipid oxidation Lipid peroxidation is the chain of reactions of oxidative degradation of lipids. It is the process in which free radicals "steal" electrons from the lipids in cell membranes, resulting in cell damage. This process proceeds by a free radical chain ...
usually need oxygen, so reducing the oxygen around fish can increase shelf life. This is done by controlling or modifying the atmosphere around the fish, or by vacuum packaging. Controlled or modified atmospheres have specific combinations of oxygen, carbon dioxide and nitrogen, and the method is often combined with refrigeration for more effective fish preservation.


Combined techniques

Two or more of these techniques are often combined. This can improve preservation and reduce unwanted side effects such as the denaturation of nutrients by severe heat treatments. Common combinations are salting/drying, salting/marinating, salting/smoking, drying/smoking, pasteurization/refrigeration and controlled atmosphere/refrigeration. Other process combinations are currently being developed along the multiple hurdle theory.


Automated processes

"The search for higher productivity and the increase of labor cost has driven the development of computer vision technology, electronic scales and automatic skinning and filleting machines." File:Fish processing hg.jpg, Automatic knives for filleting fish File:US Patent 1773079 (Fig 1).jpg, Patent issued to
Clarence Birdseye Clarence Birdseye (December 9, 1886 – October 7, 1956) was an American inventor, entrepreneur, and naturalist, considered the founder of the modern frozen food industry. He founded the frozen food company Birds Eye. Among his inventions during h ...
for the production of quick-frozen fish, 1930 File:Fish-finger-line hg.jpg, Processing line for fish fingers File:Fish feed production in Stokmarknes, Norway.jpg,
Fish feed Manufactured feeds are an important part of modern commercial aquaculture, providing the balanced nutrition needed by farmed fish. The feeds, in the form of granules or pellets, provide the nutrition in a stable and concentrated form, enabling t ...
production in Norway


Waste management

Waste produced during fish processing operations can be solid or liquid. * Solid wastes: include skin, viscera,
fish head Fish heads, either separated or still attached to the rest of the fish, are sometimes used in culinary dishes, or boiled for fish stock. Anatomy The head of a fish includes the snout, from the eye to the forward most point of the upper jaw, th ...
s and carcasses (fish bones). Solid waste can be recycled in
fish meal Fish meal is a commercial product made from whole wild-caught fish, bycatch and fish by-products to feed farm animals, e.g., pigs, poultry, and farmed fish.R. D. Miles and F. A. Chapman.FA122: The Benefits of Fish Meal in Aquaculture DietsFisher ...
plants or it can be treated as municipal waste.FAO
Waste management of fish and fish products
Fisheries and aquaculture department, Rome. Updated 27 May 2005. Retrieved 15 March 2011.
* Liquid wastes: include bloodwater and brine from drained storage tanks, and water discharges from washing and cleaning. This waste may need holding temporarily, and should be disposed of without damage to the environment. How liquid waste should be disposed from fish processing operations depends on the content levels in the waste of solid and organic matter, as well as nitrogen and phosphorus content, and oil and grease content. It also depends on an assessment of parameters such acidity levels, temperature, odour, and
biochemical oxygen demand Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) is the amount of dissolved oxygen (DO) needed (i.e. demanded) by aerobic biological organisms to break down organic material present in a given water sample at a certain temperature over a specific time period. ...
and
chemical oxygen demand In environmental chemistry, the chemical oxygen demand (COD) is an indicative measure of the amount of oxygen that can be consumed by reactions in a measured solution. It is commonly expressed in mass of oxygen consumed over volume of solution whic ...
. The magnitude of waste management issues depends on how much waste volume there is, the nature of the pollutants it carries, the rate at which it is discharged and the capacity of the receiving environment to assimilate the pollutants. Many countries dispose of such liquid wastes through their municipal sewage systems or directly into a waterway. The receiving waterbody should be able to degrade the organic and inorganic waste components in a way that does not damage the
aquatic ecosystem An aquatic ecosystem is an ecosystem formed by surrounding a body of water, in contrast to land-based terrestrial ecosystems. Aquatic ecosystems contain communities of organisms that are dependent on each other and on their environment. The t ...
. Treatments can be primary and secondary. * Primary treatments: use physical methods such as flotation, screening, and sedimentation to remove oil and grease and other suspended solids. * Secondary treatments: use biological and physicochemical means. Biological treatments use microorganisms to metabolise the organic polluting matter into energy and
biomass Biomass is plant-based material used as a fuel for heat or electricity production. It can be in the form of wood, wood residues, energy crops, agricultural residues, and waste from industry, farms, and households. Some people use the terms bio ...
. "These microorganisms can be aerobic or anaerobic. The most used aerobic processes are activated sludge system, aerated lagoons, trickling filters or bacterial beds and the rotating biological contractors. In anaerobic processes, the anaerobic microorganisms digest the organic matter in tanks to produce gases (mainly methane and ) and biomass. Anaerobic digesters are sometimes heated, using part of the methane produced, to maintain a temperature of 30 to 35°C. In the physicochemical treatments, also called coagulation-flocculation, a chemical substance is added to the effluent to reduce the surface charges responsible for particle repulsions in a colloidal suspension, thus reducing the forces that keep its particles apart. This reduction in charge causes flocculation (agglomeration) and particles of larger sizes are settled and clarified effluent is obtained. The sludge produced by primary and secondary treatments is further processed in digesting tanks through anaerobic processes or sprayed over land as a fertilizer. In the latter case, care must be exercised to ensure that the sludge is freed of its pathogens."


Transport

Fish is transported widely in ships, and by land and air, and much fish is traded internationally. It is traded live, fresh, frozen, cured and canned. Live, fresh and frozen fish need special care.FAO
Transportation of fish and fish products
Fisheries and aquaculture department, Rome. Updated 27 May 2005. Retrieved 18 March 2011.
* Live fish: When live fish are transported they need oxygen, and the carbon dioxide and ammonia that result from respiration must not be allowed to build up. Most fish transported live are placed in water supersaturated with oxygen (though
catfish Catfish (or catfishes; order Siluriformes or Nematognathi) are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Named for their prominent barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, catfish range in size and behavior from the three largest species alive, ...
can breathe air directly through their gills and body skin, and the climbing perch has special air-breathing organs). The fish are often "conditioned" (starved) before they are transported to reduce their metabolism and increase packing density, and the water can be cooled to further reduce metabolism. Live
crustacean Crustaceans (Crustacea, ) form a large, diverse arthropod taxon which includes such animals as decapoda, decapods, ostracoda, seed shrimp, branchiopoda, branchiopods, argulidae, fish lice, krill, remipedes, isopoda, isopods, barnacles, copepods, ...
s can be packed in wet sawdust to keep the air humid. * By air: Over five percent of the global fish production is transported by air. Air transport needs special care in preparation and handling and careful scheduling. Airline
transport hub A transport hub is a place where passengers and cargo are exchanged between vehicles and/or between transport modes. Public transport hubs include railway stations, rapid transit stations, bus stops, tram stops, airports and ferry slips. F ...
s often require cargo transfers under their own tight schedules. This can influence when the product is delivered, and consequently the condition it is in when it is delivered. The air shipment of leaking seafood packages causes corrosion damage to aircraft, and each year, in the US, requires millions of dollars to repair the damage. Most airlines prefer fish that is packed in dry ice or gel, and not packed in ice. * By land or sea: "The most challenging aspect of fish transportation by sea or by road is the maintenance of the cold chain, for fresh, chilled and frozen products and the optimisation of the packing and stowage density. Maintaining the cold chain requires the use of insulated containers or transport vehicles and adequate quantities of coolants or mechanical refrigeration. Continuous temperature monitors are used to provide evidence that the cold chain has not been broken during transportation. Excellent development in food packaging and handling allow rapid and efficient loading, transport and unloading of fish and fishery products by road or by sea. Also, transport of fish by sea allows for the use of special containers that carry fish under vacuum, modified or controlled atmosphere, combined with refrigeration."


Quality and safety

The
International Organization for Standardization The International Organization for Standardization (ISO ) is an international standard development organization composed of representatives from the national standards organizations of member countries. Membership requirements are given in A ...
, ISO, is the worldwide federation of national standards bodies. ISO defines ''quality'' as "the totality of features and characteristics of a product or service that bear on its ability to satisfy stated or implied needs."(ISO 8402). The quality of fish and fish products depends on safe and hygienic practices. Outbreaks of fish-borne illnesses are reduced if appropriate practices are followed when handling, manufacturing, refrigerating and transporting fish and fish products. Ensuring standards of quality and safety are high also minimizes the post-harvest losses."FAO
Quality and safety of fish and fish products
Fisheries and aquaculture department, Rome. Updated 27 September 2001. Retrieved 18 March 2011.
"The fishing industry must ensure that their fish handling, processing and transportation facilities meet requisite standards. Adequate training of both industry and control authority staff must be provided by support institutions, and channels for feedback from consumers established. Ensuring high standards for quality and safety is good economics, minimizing losses that result from spoilage, damage to trade and from illness among consumers." Fish processing highly involves very strict controls and measurements in order to ensure that all processing stages have been carried out hygienically. Thus, all fish processing companies are highly recommended to join a certain type of food safety system. One of the certifications that are commonly known is the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP). Fish quality has a direct impact on market price. Accurate assessment and prediction of fish quality are of main importance to set prices, increase competitiveness, resolve conflicts of interest and prevent food wastage due to conservative product shelf-life estimations. In last years, research in food science and technology has focused on developing new methodologies to predict fish freshness.


Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points

HACCP is a system which identifies hazards and implements measures for their control. It was first developed in 1960 by NASA to ensure food safety for the manned space program. The main objectives of NASA were to prevent food safety problems and control food borne diseases. HACCP has been widely used by food industry since the late 1970 and now it is internationally recognized as the best system for ensuring food safety. "The Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) system of assuring food safety and quality has now gained worldwide recognition as the most cost-effective and reliable system available. It is based on the identification of risks, minimizing those risks through the design and layout of the physical environment in which high standards of hygiene can be assured, sets measurable standards and establishes monitoring systems. HACCP also establishes procedures for verifying that the system is working effectively. HACCP is a sufficiently flexible system to be successfully applied at all critical stages -- from harvesting of fish to reaching the consumer. For such a system to work successfully, all stakeholders must cooperate which entails increasing the national capacity for introducing and maintaining HACCP measures. The system's control authority needs to design and implement the system, ensuring that monitoring and corrective measures are put in place." HACCP is endorsed by the: * FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization) *
Codex Alimentarius The Codex Alimentarius () is a collection of internationally recognized standards, codes of practice, guidelines, and other recommendations published by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations relating to food, food productio ...
(a commission of the United Nations) * FDA (US Food and Drug Administration) *
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...
* WHO (World Health Organization) There are seven basic principles: * Principle 1: Conduct a hazard analysis. * Principle 2: After assessing all the processing steps, the
Critical control point Critical Control Point (CCP) is the point where the failure of Standard Operation Procedure (SOP) could cause harm to customers and to the business, or even loss of the business itself. It is a point, step or procedure at which controls can be app ...
(CCP) is controlled. CCP are points which determine and control significant hazards in a food manufacturing process. * Principle 3: Set up critical limits in order to ensure that the hazard identified is being controlled effectively. * Principle 4: Establish a system so as to monitor the CCP. * Principle 5: Establish corrective actions where the critical limit has not been met. Appropriate actions need to be taken which can be on a short or long-term basis. All records must be sustained accurately. * Principle 6: Establish authentication procedures so as to confirm if the principles imposed by HACCP documents are being respected effectively and all records are being taken. * Principle 7: Analyze if the HACCP plan are working effectively.


Final products

Finfish, or parts of finfish, are typically presented physically for marketing in one of the following formsFin Fish
Purdue University. Accessed 18 March 2011.
* whole fish: the fish as it originally came from the water, with no physical processing * drawn fish: a whole fish which has been eviscerated, that is, had its internal organs removed * dressed fish: fish that has been scaled and eviscerated, and is ready to cook. * pan dressed fish: a dressed fish which has had its head, tail, and fins removed, so it will fit in a pan. *
filleted fish A fish fillet, from the French word () meaning a ''thread'' or ''strip'', is the flesh of a fish which has been cut or sliced away from the bone by cutting lengthwise along one side of the fish parallel to the backbone. In preparation for fillet ...
: the "fleshy sides of the fish, cut lengthwise from the fish along the backbone. They are usually boneless, although in some fish small bones called “pins” may be present; skin may be present on one side, too. Butterfly fillets may be available. This refers to two fillets held together by the uncut flesh and skin of the belly" * fish steaks: large dressed fish can be cut into cross section slices, usually half to one inch thick, and usually with a cross section of the backbone * fish sticks: "are pieces of fish cut from blocks of frozen fillets into portions at least 3/8-inch thick. Sticks are available in fried form ready to heat or frozen raw, coated with batter and breaded, ready to be cooked" *
fish cakes A fishcake (sometimes written as fish cake) is a culinary dish consisting of filleted fish or other seafood minced or ground, mixed with a starchy ingredient, and fried until golden. Asian-style fishcakes usually contain fish with salt, water, ...
: are "prepared from flaked fish, potatoes, and seasonings, and shaped into cakes, coated with batter, breaded, and then packaged and frozen, ready-to-be-cooked" * fish fingers * fish roe File:Tsukiji.CuttingFrozenTuna.jpg, Cutting frozen tuna with a band saw File:Hake fillet.jpg, Filleting hake File:Oroshi hocho knives.jpg, Japanese utensils used to fillet large tuna File:Fleet Fisheries Processing Center.jpg, Filleting sole


Value addition

In general value addition means “any additional activity that in one way or the other change the nature of a product thus adding to its value at the time of sale.” Value addition is an expanding sector in the food processing industry, especially in export markets. Value is added to fish and fishery products depending on the requirement of different markets. Globally a transition period is taking place where cooked products are replacing traditional raw products in consumer preference. "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."FAO
Further processing of fish
Fisheries and aquaculture department, Rome. Updated 27 May 2005. Retrieved 14 March 2011.
"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." * Surimi:
Surimi is a paste made from fish or other meat. The term can also refer to a number of East Asian foods that use that paste as their primary ingredient. It is available in many shapes, forms, and textures, and is often used to mimic the texture and ...
and surimi-based products are an example of value added products. Surimi is prepared from the mechanically deboned, washed (bleached) and stabilised flesh of fish. "It is an intermediate product used in the preparation of a variety of ready to eat seafood such as
kamaboko is a type of cured , a processed seafood product common in Japanese cuisine. is made by forming various pureed deboned white fish with either natural or man-made additives and flavorings into distinctive loaves, which are then steamed u ...
, 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 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." * Fishmeal and fish oil: "A significant proportion of the world catch (20 percent) is processed into
fishmeal Fish meal is a commercial product made from whole wild-caught fish, bycatch and fish by-products to feed farm animals, e.g., pigs, poultry, and farmed fish.R. D. Miles and F. A. Chapman.FA122: The Benefits of Fish Meal in Aquaculture DietsFisheri ...
and fish oil. Fishmeal 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 Oily fish are fish species with oil (fats) in soft tissues and in the coelomic cavity around the gut. Their fillets may contain up to 30% oil, although this figure varies both within and between species. Examples of oily fish include sma ...
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."


History

There is evidence humans have been processing fish since the early
Holocene The Holocene ( ) is the current geological epoch. It began approximately 11,650 cal years Before Present (), after the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene togeth ...
. For example, fishbones (c. 8140–7550 BP, uncalibrated) at Atlit-Yam, a submerged
Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several pa ...
site off Israel, have been analysed. What emerged was a picture of "a pile of fish gutted and processed in a size-dependent manner, and then stored for future consumption or trade. This scenario suggests that technology for fish storage was already available, and that the Atlit-Yam inhabitants could enjoy the economic stability resulting from food storage and trade with mainland sites."Zohar I, Dayan T, Galili E and Spanier E (2001
"Fish processing during the early Holocene: a taphonomic case study from coastal Israel"
''Journal of Archaeological Science'', 28: 1041–1053.
File:Egyptian_fishery3.jpg,
Egyptians Egyptians ( arz, المَصرِيُون, translit=al-Maṣriyyūn, ; arz, المَصرِيِين, translit=al-Maṣriyyīn, ; cop, ⲣⲉⲙⲛ̀ⲭⲏⲙⲓ, remenkhēmi) are an ethnic group native to the Nile, Nile Valley in Egypt. Egyptian ...
bringing in fish and splitting them for salting File:Walraversijde55.jpg, Medieval
smokehouse A smokehouse (North American) or smokery (British) is a building where meat or fish is cured with smoke. The finished product might be stored in the building, sometimes for a year or more.
at Walraversijde, ca. 1465Tys D and Pieters M (2009
"Understanding a medieval fishing settlement along the southern Northern Sea: Walraversijde, c. 1200–1630"
In: Sicking L and Abreu-Ferreira D (Eds.) ''Beyond the catch: fisheries of the North Atlantic, the North Sea and the Baltic, 900-1850'', Brill, pages 91–122. ..
File:The ice house Findhorn - geograph.org.uk - 547873.jpg, Ice house used to preserve fish at Findhorn


See also

*
Cured fish A cure is a completely effective treatment for a disease. Cure, or similar, may also refer to: Places * Cure (river), a river in France * Cures, Sabinum, an ancient Italian town * Cures, Sarthe, a commune in western France People * Curate or ...
*
Dried fish Fresh fish rapidly deteriorates unless some way can be found to preserve it. Drying is a method of food preservation that works by removing water from the food, which inhibits the growth of microorganisms. Open air drying using sun and wind has b ...
*
Dried and salted cod Dried and salted cod, sometimes referred to as salt cod or saltfish or salt dolly, is cod which has been preserved by drying after salting. Cod which has been dried without the addition of salt is stockfish. Salt cod was long a major export o ...
* List of seafood companies *
Salmon cannery A salmon cannery is a factory that commercially cans salmon. It is a fish-processing industry that became established on the Pacific coast of North America during the 19th century, and subsequently expanded to other parts of the world that had e ...
* Salting *
Salted fish Salted fish, such as kippered herring or dried and salted cod, is fish cured with dry salt and thus preserved for later eating. Drying or salting, either with dry salt or with brine, was the only widely available method of preserving fish unt ...
* Scombroid food poisoning * Smoked fish * Scrod * Fish fillet processor *
Fish slaughter Fish slaughter is the process of killing fish, typically after harvesting at sea or from fish farms. At least one trillion fish are slaughtered each year for human consumption. Some relatively humane slaughter methods have been developed, including ...
* Ikejime *


Notes


References

* Bekker-Nielsen T (2005
''Ancient fishing and fish processing in the Black Sea region''
Volume 2 of Black Sea studies, Aarhus University Press, . * Bremner HA (2003
''Safety and Quality Issues in Fish Processing''
Woodhead Publishing Limited, . * Brewer DJ and Friedman RF (1989
''Fish and Fishing in Ancient Egypt''
Cairo press: The American University in Cairo. * Cutting CL (1955) ''Fish saving; a history of fish processing from ancient to modern times'', L. Hill. * FAO and WHO (2012
''Codex Alimentarius: Code of practice for fish and fishery products''
Rome. . * Hall GM (1997
''Fish processing technology''
Springer, . * Luten JB, Jacobsen C and Bekaert K (2006
''Seafood research from fish to dish: quality, safety and processing of wild and farmed fish''
Wageningen Academic Publishers. . * Pearson AM and Dutson TR (1999) ''HACCP in Meat, Poultry and Fish Processing'', Volume 10 of ''Advances in meat research'', Springer. . * Shahidi F, Jones Y and Kitts DD (1997) ''Seafood safety, processing, and biotechnology'', Technomic, . * Stellman JM (ed.) (1998
''Chemical, industries and occupations''
Volume 3 of ''Encyclopaedia of Occupational Health and Safety'', International Labour Organization. . * Stewart H (1982
''Indian Fishing: Early Methods on the Northwest Coast''
University of Washington Press. . * Stewart K M (1989) Fishing Sites of North and East Africa in the Late Pleistocene and Holocene. Volume 34 of Cambridge monographs in African archaeology. * Stewart KM (1994
"Early hominid utilisation of fish resources and implications for seasonality and behaviour"
''Journal of Human Evolution'', 27: 229–245. * United Nations Development Fund for Women (1993
''Fish processing''
Food Technology Source Book Series (UNIFEM) Series, .


External links



directory of academic and industry literature
Fish Products Industry in Canada
{{dried fish