Fish 301CPost Harvest Fisheries

Prepared by:Dr. Mary Ann L. Dalaguit

Aquatic Resources of our country do not only serve as a

source of food but are important economically.

Why?

Because they can • Provide job opportunities• Income and • foreign currency for the people and

country when exploited in a sustainable way

What is the present situation of the products from the aquatic

environments?

• The potential to harvest more products from aquatic environments is now very much limited.

• Production is decreasing as more and more fisheries are getting heavily or over exploited.

• At the start of 1990’s around 69% of the world’s traditional species were fully exploited, overexploited, depleted or in the process of rebuilding due to depletion (FAO, 1995).

Simultaneously, the demand for protein worldwide is increasing as the human population grows (Ward.1996)

How to cope the shortage between production and demand?

One means of reducing the shortage between production and demand is to efficiently utilize aquatic resources by the application of effective processing technology to reduce post-harvest losses and wastage.

What is Fish Processing Technology?

• This includes the different processes and techniques employed in the post-harvest handling, processing and marketing of aquatic products from the time of harvesting to final utilization.

What is the main purpose of the application of processing

technology in aquatic products?

• Preventing or delaying spoilage

What causes spoilage?

• Spoilage is brought about by microorganism, enzymes, and physical or mechanical means

What are the different processes and techniques employed to delay

or prevent spoilage?

• Canning• Freezing and refrigeration• Fish Curing

– Salting– Drying and dehydration– Smoking– Pickling

What is canning?

• It is a process which produces a commercially sterilized products that is shelf-stable for several months.

• The initial bacterial load in the product is reduced to an acceptably low level depending upon the organism the process is designed to destroy.

• The canning process involves the placing of fish in the freshest possible condition into the can, removal of air by heat treatment, and hermetically sealing the lid and sterilizing the fish by further processing.

• The second heat treatment must be carried out at temperatures around 120oC using steam under pressure or in retorts.

What is Freezing and Refrigeration?

• It is the lowering of temperature to a degree or point where microorganisms is inactivated.

What is Fish Curing?

• It includes all the methods of fish preservation except canning and refrigeration.

What are the methods of Fish Curing?

– Salting– Drying and dehydration– Smoking– Pickling

What is Salting?

• It is a method of fish curing wherein the moisture content of fish is lowered to a point where bacterial and enzymatic activities are retarded.

What is drying?

• It is process in which the removal of moisture is effected by exposure of the products to natural currents of air/or direct sunlight.

What is dehydration?

• It is the process of removing moisture from the product though artificial means.

What is smoking?

• It preserves through the combined effects of drying, salting, heat treatment (if precooked) and the deposition of chemicals produced from the burning of wood.

What is pickling?

• It is one of the methods of fish curing wherein preservative action is due to the combination of vinegar and salt.

Answer briefly1. What are the economic uses of fishery

resources?2. Describe the present situation of our

fishery resources.3. How will you handle the discrepancy

between production and demand?4. What is fish processing technology?5. What are your expectations from this

subject?