Seafood

Resources, Nutritional Composition, and Preservation

Zdzislaw E. Sikorski

• Publisher: CRC Press
• Year: 2020
• Print ISBN: 9780849359859
• eBook ISBN: 9781000141795
• Topic: Medicine
• Subtopic: Food Science

This must-have resource focuses on marine food composition as it relates to nutrition. Filled with illustrations and graphs, it describes the biological and technical factors which effect the availability and quality of seafood resources and provides information on the biochemical changes, functional properties, contents, and biological value of the main components of the major marine food organisms. It presents the yield of edible parts for the different species and the applied procedures of processing and culinary preparation. This volume is intended for the general reader who is interested in food production, marketing, and nutrition, and is also an ideal text for students of food science as well as professionals in the food trade and fish industry.

Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION

Zdzisław E. Sikorski

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I.	Demand for Fish as Food
II.	Resources and Availability
III.	Developments in Fishing Boats and Gear
IV.	Utilization of the Catch
V.	The Nutritional Value
VI.	Better Sanitary Management

I.  DEMAND FOR FISH AS FOOD

Marine fish and invertebrates form a substantial part of the human diet, both of the poor and of the wealthy. Their contribution to the world food resources is usually evaluated in terms of protein value. The ratio of the daily fish protein intake per capita to the total animal protein consumption ranged in the 1970s from about 6 in West Germany through 45 in Japan to about 70 in South Korea. In many developing countries, fish, in very simple forms of preparation and artisan preservation, mainly by drying, fermenting, and salting, supply most of the animal protein in the poor man’s diet based on staple cereals. On the other hand, many species of fish and marine invertebrates are highly valued because of their superior sensory quality. Therefore, the well-to-do select for their cuisine rare, expensive species of fish, crustaceans, and esoteric mollusks. These seafoods provide the gourmet with exquisite sensory delight. Thus, there is a large and growing demand for fish and marine shellfish as a cheap source of valuable protein, lipids, and other nutrients for the people in need, as well as for the expensive species for the people who can afford. Actually the world catches lag substantially behind the demand in both groups.

II.  RESOURCES AND AVAILABILITY

During the last 2 decades, a significant change in the world resources and availability of marine fish and shellfish has taken place. The resources of many traditional species, which formed in the past the basis for large industrial international fisheries, e.g., the herring, pilchard, cod, and some tunas, have been largely overfished. Furthermore, the introduction of the economic zones by the coastal states has restricted the accessibility of many shelf areas for international exploitation. These changes in the availability of resources have led to discoveries of several new rich fishing grounds, both in the shelf seas and in the open oceans. Many of these areas were initially abundant in valuable species; others were quickly recognized as large sources of swarm fish of considerable industrial value. Unfortunately, some of the new resources discovered have also already been overfished because of initial lack of proper international management. There are also resources of species for which there is less demand on the world market, e.g., the capelin and the Antarctic krill. Some of these fish and invertebrates are being caught by a growing number of vessels. The industrial exploitation of other abundant populations, especially of small midwater species in the open oceans, awaits further improvement in the technology of fishing operations and processing. The actual resources available annually for commercial fisheries by contemporary technology are estimated to be about 200 million tons.

The decrease in availability of valuable species, accompanied by a growing demand for top quality seafoods, has brought about rapid developments in sea farming. The quantity of organic material produced in the uncultivated seas, represented by a unit square, is roughly equal to the average in agriculture. The crop taken by the fisheries from the seas, however, is not higher than about 1% of the total production.

III.  DEVELOPMENTS IN FISHING BOATS AND GEAR

The changes in worldwide fisheries policy, as well as general technological progress, caused significant alterations in the development trends in fishing boats and gear, as well as in fishing operations. Although the major part of the world catch is now being harvested as before in coastal areas by the crews of small fishing craft, of about 10 m in length, these boats are now better equipped in navigational and communication aids, have more efficient catching gear on board, and many of them have the facilities for chilling the catch in ice of sea water. At the same time, however, very large factory ships are being built, designed for cooperation with fleets of catchers in the Pacific waters and for processing on board, like the new generation floating fish factories for the U.S.S.R., 179 m long, with a crew of 520, equipped for producing frozen fish blocks, canned fish, and crabs, as well as fodder meals.

IV.  UTILIZATION OF THE CATCH

The need for better management and utilization of the world resources which are available only at a growing cost for the necessary equipment and energy has encouraged more careful and sophisticated handling and preservation of the catch on board to keep the fish longer in the state of prime freshness, to extend the shelf life, and to reduce losses due to spoilage. In many specialized fisheries, it also proved justifiable to utilize the by-products, which until recently had been discarded overboard. On the other hand, very high prices, paid for top quality fish of prime freshness, have made it possible to apply individual treatment of such resources and air freight the catch to distant quality markets.

The depletion of many species, traditionally used for making worldwide or locally popular fish products, has encouraged efforts to produce the traditional commodities from other, less suitable but abundant raw materials, by properly modifying the technology. Some resources, which were in the past regarded as raw material for fodder meal, are now being used for human consumption. In the wake of the breakthrough made by the American invention of the fish fingers in the 1950s, many fish species of rather low traditional commercial value have made a name as raw material for various products composed of minced fish flesh. Furthermore, the fish minces in form of bland preparations, known as surimi, have been used not only in the seafood industry, but are also being regarded as suitable for blending with other material in non-fish foods. Although much effort was spent in research on dry fish protein concentrates, the commercial application of results has not met high expectations.

V.  THE NUTRITIONAL VALUE

There is a growing awareness of the beneficial role of fish and other marine foods in human nutrition. After the discoveries of the first 2 decades of the 20th century, when cod liver oil was found to exhibit preventive and therapeutic effectiveness in vitamin A and D deficiencies, fish liver oils or concentrates were administered to infants and children. Later, due to competition of synthetic vitamins, fish oils lost their important position. They have been, however, again recognized as very beneficial for human health, being the richest source of n-3 fatty acids, which cooperate in preventing both heart disease and heart attack. Fish in the human diet is very important also because it supplies protein of high biological value, as well as a large variety of minerals and microelements. Thus, fish can help to fulfill at least three out of the popular ten suggestions for rational nutrition.

VI.  BETTER SANITARY MANAGEMENT

Increasing pollution of many coastal waters brings about serious risks of contamination of the catch, mainly of valuable shellfish. To effectively prevent most of the dangers to human health caused by environmental contaminants, toxins, pathogenic microorganisms, and parasites associated with marine foods from polluted areas, improved sanitary management in the fish industry has been introduced. This is aided by new developments in handling equipment and processing machinery, application of effective refrigeration starting on board the vessel, rationalized parameters of processing, modern protective packaging of the products, good manufacturing practice and sanitary supervision of all operations, and very stringent regulations enforced by various health authorities, especially regarding export licences. Better understanding of the nature of fish and marine invertebrates and of the operations involved in the handling, processing, and preservation of the catch may also help improve the utilization of these resources as human food.

Chapter 2

RESOURCES AND THEIR AVAILABILITY

Zdzisław E. Sikorski and Zbigniew Karnicki

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I.	The Marine Habitat A. The Physical and Chemical Factors 1. Introduction 2. The Depth and the Bottom Deposits 3. The Light 4. The Temperature 5. The Salinity 6. Oxygen, Carbon Dioxide, and Hydrogen Sulfide B. The Food Chain In The Seas
II.	The Main Groups of Organisms Exploited for Food A. Marine Plants B. Mollusks C. Crustaceans D. Fish 1. General Biological Characteristics 2. Fish Families of Commercial Importance a. Clupeidae and Engraulidae b. Gadidae c. Serranidae d. Carangidae e. Lutianidae f. Sparidae g. Scienidae h. Nototheniidae i. Scombridae k. Scorpenidae l. Bothidae, Pleuronectidae, and Soleidae m. Salmonidae n. Selachii
III.	Fishing Gear and Boats A. Fishing Gear 1. Development 2. Wounding Gear and Fishing Lines 3. Fish Traps 4. Nets B. Fishing Boats 1. Introduction 2. Coastal Fishing Boats 3. Tuna Clippers and Long Liners 4. Trawlers 5. Other Vessels Employed in Fisheries
IV.	Accessibility and Limitations of Resources A. Biological Factors B. Technical Factors
References

I. THE MARINE HABITAT

A. THE PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL FACTORS

1. Introduction

The living conditions for marine organisms in oceans and seas depend on a large number of physical and chemical factors of the habitat. These vary extensively under the influence of the geographic location, the seasonal climatic conditions, and in many cases also on the activities of man.¹

2. The Depth and the Bottom Deposits

Along the coasts of continents the seas are generally shallow, as the land forms there a plateau descends gradually to about 200 m, known as the continental shelf (Figure 1). The shelves account for about 8% of the total ocean area. Their width depends upon the configuration of the coastal zone of the land. Further down, to about 100 m, runs the much steeper continental slope, and beneath, to about 6000 m, extends the deep ocean bottom over some 77% of the ocean area. The bed of the ocean is not quite flat. In many places it forms high underwater ridges and mountain ranges. There are also deep clefts and canyons, some of them reaching down to 10,000 m.

The pressure in the ocean waters, increasing with the depth, is one of the factors that influences the distribution of organic life in the seas. Most of the species of fish and marine invertebrates exploited for commercial purposes are not adapted to live at very gre...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Foreword
• The Editor
• Contributors
• Table of Contents
• Preface
• Chapter 1 Introduction
• Chapter 2 Resources and Their Availability
• Chapter 3 The Nutritive Composition of the Major Groups of Marine Food Organisms
• Chapter 4 Postharvest Biochemical and Microbial Changes
• Chapter 5 The Preparation of the Catch for Preservation and Marketing
• Chapter 6 Chilling of Fresh Fish
• Chapter 7 Freezing of Marine Foods
• Chapter 8 Drying and Dried Fish Products
• Chapter 9 Salting and Marinating of Fish
• Chapter 10 Smoking
• Chapter 11 Canning of Marine Foods
• Chapter 12 Minced Fish Technology
• Chapter 13 Sanitation in Marine Food Industry
• Index