New Peruvian Plant toProduce "Marine Beef"
Destruction of Coral andCoral Reefs ProhibitedThe taking of coral in the Gulf ofMexico and South Atlantic is prohibited, reports Jack T. Brawner, National Marine Fisheries Service'sSoutheast Regional Director. Federalregulations, which implement theFishery Management Plan for Coraland Coral Reefs, now protect over400 species of coral and apply to thefishery conservation zone which extends from the outer boundary ofstate waters (9 n.mi. off Texas and thewest coast of Florida, and 3 n.mi. offthe east coast of Florida and the otherstates) seaward to a distance of 200n.mi. from the coastline.
Protected corals include fire corals,hydrocorals, sea fans, sea whips,precious corals, sea pens, and stony
Foreign Fishery Developments
A Japanese engineering companyhas built a "marine beef' plant in Peruwhich will produce a dehydrated protein concentrate that reportedly canbe used in a variety of meat andpoultry dishes. The pilot plant, forPeru's state-owned fishing company,Pescaperu, is located at the largelyunused San Andres Fisheries Complex near Pisco, about 230 km southof Lima.
Marine beef is a new type of fishprotein concentrate which can easilybe rehydrated for home use. Itsunique feature is that it reportedly hasthe texture of ground meat whenprepared and can thus be used in awide variety of foods. Constructionof the plant was completed in 1984,but the plant had not yet begunoperating.
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corals, as well as hard bottoms, deepwater banks, patch reefs, and outerbank reefs. Taking of coral is definedto include damaging, harming, or killing of the coral.
According to Brawner, there hadbeen substantiated reports of wholesale destruction of coral reefs beforethe regulations went into effect."Destruction of our coral reefs cannotbe tolerated," said Brawner, adding"Harvesting corals must be for scientific or educational purposes." Coralsare live but sedentary organisms, particularly vulnerable to physical andbiological destruction. Because manyspecies are slow growing, they wouldnot recover for many years if damaged.
The regulations also establishhabitat areas of particular concern forcorals that are currently or potentially
The process consumes large quantities of ethanol alcohol which is veryexpensive in Peru. About 97 percentof the alcohol is recovered, but the 3percent consumed still increases thecost of the final product to the pointthat it cannot yet be successfullymarketed in Peru. Pescaperu officialshoped to begin production at theplant in early 1985.
Peru has only a small livestock andpoultry industry. Feed grains have tobe imported, making it costly to raiseboth livestock and poultry in Peru. Asa result, fish is the only inexpensiveanimal protein available to feed thecountry's rapidly growing population.There is a great demand, however, formeat and poultry. Pescaperu officialsdecided that the marine beef technology would be a way of converting
threatened. These areas include theWest and East Flower Garden Banksoff Texas, the Florida MiddleGrounds off the west coast ofFlorida, and the Oculina Bank off Ft.Pierce, Fla. Fishing with longlines,fish traps or pots, and bottom trawlsin these threatened areas is prohibited. Any illegal taking of coral inthe fishery conservation zone shouldbe reported to Federal law enforcement officials. Violators may facepenalties up to $25,000 for each offense. Anyone taking corals musthave a permit from the NationalMarine Fisheries Service. Informationon permits and current regulationsmay be obtained from the FisheryOperations Branch, National MarineFisheries Service, 9450 KogerBoulevard, St. Petersburg, FL 33702,(813) 893-3723.
the country's abundant fisheryresources to a product that can beused in various meat and poultrydishes.
Home Preparation
Marine beef is a product that theaverag,;; Peruvian consumer may findconvenient and easy to use. It has afaint smell of alcohol and fish, butthis disappears when the product issoaked in water before cooking. Theconsumer can easily rehydrate marinebeef by soaking it in water for about40 minutes. After rehydration it isrinsed in water a few times and then isready to use. Marine beef expands toabout 5 times its dry weight. It isflavorless and can be used either as ameat "extender" or by itself, usually infood that has sauces to provide theflavor. Bouillon can also be used toflavor it. Pescaperu officials reportthat the product has been tested inLima restaurants and that no onedetected the substitution of marinebeef for the meat or poultry dishordered.
Raw Material
Marine beef can be made from
Marine Fisheries Review
either pelagic or demersal fishes, andthe end product has virtually identicalcharacteristics, regardless of thespecies used. This was an importantfactor for Peru, because many of thealternative fishery products, such asminced fish and surimi, are currentlymade mostly from demersal specieswith a low fat content. The marinebeef can be made from the more oilypelagic species found off Peru.Pescaperu planned to begin production with sardines, but other species,(i.e., jack mackerel) which exist ineven larger quantities off Peru, canalso be used.
Processing
The Pisco pilot plant's capacity isabout 1 metric ton (t) of marine beefin 12 hours. Depending on the condition of the fish, it takes from 16 to 22t of raw fish to produce 1 t of marinebeef, giving yields of 4.5-6.2 percent.The lower yield was obtained fromfish in poor condition with whichPescaperu was experimenting todetermine in what condition fish canbe fed into the process. This is an important factor, as Peruvian fishermenare accustomed to catching fish forreduction to fishmeal, and manyvessels are not equipped to handle fishwhich will be used to produce edibleproducts.
Marine beef is made by concentrating fish protein without alteringthe amino acid balance. The fish isrun through the plant on a continuousline. The heading, skinning, deboning, and mincing steps are the same asin other fish processing procedures.The bones and offal are used to makefishmeal. The minced fish is washedwith water to remove refuse andblood. The water is then removed bya screw process. Most of the process isrun at low temperatures to preventprotein destruction.
The meat is next put through analkali blanching process by addingsodium bicarbonate. Additives aremixed, the pH adjusted, and theproduct kneaded. Kneading the fishwith salt breaks down the muscle fiberand forms a viscous paste which ismixed with the alcohol to denature
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and coagulate the protein, precipitating the muscle fibers into a newfiber structure similar to meat. Theproduct is then extruded and putthrough four solvent extraction stepsto remove as much of the fat as possible. The product is finally dried andpackaged as pellets. Dust from thepelletization process will be collectedfor use as high-protein additives inother foods. The alcohol extractedfrom the process is purified and reused. Fish fat from the washing andalcohol purification is recovered andrefined to produce fish oil.
Composition
The final product is about 90 percent protein. The primary aminoacids are lysine and leucine, but sixother amino acids are found in significant quantities (Table 1). The productis virtually fat-free and has a moisturecontent of less than 8 percent.
It is claimed that the low-fat, lowcalorie, but high-protein product is ahealthy food. It has a protein contentsimilar to beef and pork, but withfewer calories. Japan's NationalNutrition Institute has approved theuse of marine beef for human consumption. No artificial substances orharmful additives are used. The major substances added are salt andsodium bicarbonate. The ethanolalcohol, used to sterilize the productand to remove the fat, also has theadded benefit of removingcholesterol, polychlorinated biphenyls(PCBs), and agricultural chemicalswhich may be present in the fish.
Marketing Plans
Peruvian officials plan to market
Table 1.-Marlne beef technical data for IInal dryproduct, based on marine beef from Alaska pollockproduced In Japan.
Composition Proteins
Item Percent Amino acid Percent
Protein 88.0-92.0 Lysine 9.75Moisture 6.3-7.6 Leucine 7.35Ash 2.0-4.4 Threonine 4.19Fat Neg!. Valine 4.12
Isoleucine 3.70Phenylalanine 3.14Methionine 3.04Tryptophan 1.20
marine beef in several different ways.The goal is to first refine the processand reduce the price of the end product to less than half of the price forground beef. The product could beused in the "Restaurantes Populares"subsidized by the Government forlow-income consumers. Trials withspaghetti and marine beef "meatsauce" at these restaurants, for example, have been successful. Officialsalso plan to use marine beef forschool lunches and in preparing foodfor the military. It will be sold in foodstores, both by itself and mixed withground beef and pork. Other products such as paste and cookies withmarine beef added are also beingstudied.
Marine beef is also expected to bean attractive product to market inisolated Andean villages. The virtualabsence of fat enables it to be shippedand stored without refrigeration.Marine beef can be stored at roomtemperature for up to 2 years. Thenew product has an added marketingadvantage in that it is a dehydratedproduct which substantially reducestransportation costs. These advantages will make it possible for marinebeef to be marketed in Peruviantowns and villages that do not normally receive seafood shipments.
Marine beef may also have exportpotential. It could be a convenientfood for campers and hikers, given itslight weight and storage characteristics. The growing popularity of outdoor activities in the United Statesand other countries could represent aready market. (Source: IFR-84/65R.)
Peru Harvests andCultures Scallops
Peru has developed an importantnew fishery for the scallopsArgopecten purpuratus. Whilescallops have always been present offPeru, until the 1982-83 EI Nino event,they were never harvested in commercial quantities. Peruvian biologists aredivided as to whether the populationincreased as a result of EI Nino orwhether large populations were
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always there, but not utilized. As aresult, Peruvian officials do not yetknow whether the return of more normal oceanographic conditions alongthe Peruvian coast will affect thescallop population. Most of the production is currently shipped frozen tothe United States. These shipmentstotaled almost 930 metric tons (t)worth $6.6 million in 1983 (Table I).There were no shipments in 1982.Smaller quantities are shipped toEurope, mostly France. Exports tothe United States began to decline inApril 1984, primarily because of aclosed season in the major fishingarea.
Peru's scallop catch is currentlytaken by divers. Several fishermen,however, have obtained Governmentconcessions from the Ministry ofFisheries to culture scallops in coastalareas. The concessions range in areafrom 0.5 to 10.0 hectares. One of thecenters of this activity is an area nearPisco, about 230 km south of Lima.Scallop fishermen first began to stockconcessions with juvenile scallops inmid-1983. The participating fishermen have just began to harvest theseeded scallops. Data on the results ofthese harvests are not yet available,but preliminary reports suggest profitable returns.
CoUecting Juveniles
The scallops are gathered by diversfrom boats 10-15 m in length. Theboats generally have air compressors
Table 1.-Peruvian scallop exports tothe United States, 1983·84.
Exports 11.000 t)
Month 1983 1984
January 245.1February 246.8March 248.5April 100.2May 76.5June 101.6July 16.8August 69September 663OctOber 179.9November 2572')ecember 417.9
Total 9281
Closed season Imposed In majorfishing areas.
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which pump air to the divers so theydo not have to surface continuously.Most of the boats are based at Chacoor at the San Andres Fisheries Terminal. The diving is usually conducted from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.The divers use a "capacho" net to collect the scallops. Those that are under5 cm are used to seed new scallopbeds. The seed scallops are sold forabout $4.00 for a can containingabout 960 juveniles. Scallops are soldin sacks containing 8 dozen (96)scallops which are called a "manojo."The smaller seed oysters are sold incans containing about 10 manojos.Divers report that they can collectfrom 6 to 30 cans of scallops per day.
Stocking Juveniles
Divers disperse the juvenile scallopsin the Government concessions obtained by the fishermen. The areachosen for the concessions is shallowcoastal water, 2-5 m deep. Stockingdensity varies, depending on theavailability of juveniles and individualpractices of each fishermen. Asscallop culture is a new activity inPeru, data to establish optimal stocking densities have not yet been collected and analyzed. One companybegan to seed a 1.3 hectare concessionon 26 March 1984, and has seeded atotal of 173,000 juveniles. Its scientific advisor, Rene Mayo, believesthat about 100 scallops/m2 can bestocked (about I million scallops perhectare), but others say this is muchtoo dense. The company is collectingdata on salinity, dissolved oxygen,and temperature, and every week adiver checks the scallops, lookingespecially at mortalities. They reportmortalities totaling only about 2 percent. The biggest problem appears tobe predators like sea snails, octopus,and crabs. Divers periodically clearsuch predators from the concessions.Human poachers are another problem, and growers now arm guardswho remain on rafts during the nightwith shotguns.
Hatchery Seed
Researchers at the Fisheries Schoolof the Universidad Agronoma
"Molina" (UAM) in Lima have beenproducing juvenile scallops in a hatchery. UAM researcher Victor VenturiH. reports success in raising juvenilesusing "berried females." UAM doesnot currently plan to breed scallops asit believes an adequate supply ofjuveniles can be produced using the"berried females." Closing thebreeding cycle is a much more difficult task, which would require morefunding than is currently available.(Source: IFR-84/68.)
Chilean FishingHarvest Reported
Chile reported a record catch surpassing 4.0 million metric tons (t) in1983, up 8 percent over 1982. The1982-83 "El Nino" phenomenon increased the quantity of the landings,apparently causing a shift southwardinto northern Chilean waters of fishnormally found further north offPeru. The EI Nino also affected thespecies composition of the catch. Thetwo major fish species caught,however, remained the South Pacificsardine (2.8 million t) and the jackmackerel (0.8 million t). These pelagicfishes are the backbone of the fishmeal industry.
Fishmeal production and exportsconstituted, as before, the single mostimportant activity of the industry.Clams made up the greatest percentage of mollusks, and crabs were theleading crustaceans. Gracillaria sp.was the leading seaweed. Fishmealproduction utilized over 85 percent ofall marine landings by quantity. Thevalue of exports reached $445 million,8 percent above the 1982 level, accounting for nearly 12 percent of totalChilean export earnings.
The U.S. Embassy in Santiago hasprepared a 21-page report on Chileandevelopments. The report includes information on resources, landings,utilization, exports, companies,employment, fleet, and aquaculture.Interested U.S. companies can purchase a copy for $7.00 by orderingreport number PB85-134450 fromNTIS, Springfield, VA 22161.(Source: IFR-84/102.)
Marine Fisheries Review