FISH PRESERVATION, PROCESSING,

Transporting

BY: Muhammad Laique

Submitted To: Dr. Asma
Karim

Contents
Introduction
Fish processing(primary processing)
Fish preservation methods(secondary
processing)
Transportation

Introduction
In some places, more fish is caught at times than can
be consumed.
Methods are used in keeping the surplus fish in good
condition for later consumption.
Again, fishermen sometimes cannot return to their
villages promptly with fresh fish they have caught,
and it will be of value to them to know how to
process(primary processing) and preserve(secondary
Processing) their catch by simple means.
It is also necessary to transport fish to target market
or factories while it is in good quality.

Processing Of Fish
The termfish processingrefers 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.
The harvested fish should be cleaned and cooled as
soon possible due to their strong digestive juices, fish
spoil very soon and if not gutted and cleaned promptly
may develop off flavor and color.
A sharp knife, clean cloth, plastic bags and crushed ice
must be kept ready for gutting and cleaning of fish.
With the help of knife, fish should be cleaned and bled.
Throat should be cut and gills and entrails are removed.
Cleaned fish first be put in plastic bags and then in ice.
To prevent contamination, hands, working area, cutting
boards, knives and other utensils should be properly
cleaned with water and soap.

 FISH PRESERVATION
Preservation is the processing of food so that they
can be stored for a longer time.
Preservation of fish is done to prevent spoilage.
Since fish is very perishable, it is therefore, necessary to
preserve fish if not consumed or disposed immediately.
Fish preservation is the method of extending the shelf life
of fish and other fishery products by applying the
principles of chemistry, engineering and other branches
of science in order to improve the quality of the products.
Some of the important reasons for preserving foods are
1. To take care of the excess produce.
2. Reaches areas where the food item is not available
3. Makes transportation and storage of foods easier
4. Preserving Foods at Home

 Fish Foods can be preserved by the following

methods (i) Salting
(ii) Dehydration
(ii) Increasing temperature(Smoking)
(iii) Lowering temperature(chilling and freezing)
(iv) Using preservatives(Canning and pickling)

 METHODS OF FISH PRESERVATION

a. Salting
Salt is the preservative agent used to
lengthen the shelf life of fish and fishery
products as it absorbs moisture from
organism and drastically reduce spoilage.
This is used in almost all methods of
preservation except in icing, refrigeration
and freezing.
There many different kinds of salt, some
being better than others for fish curing.
A distinction must be made between the two
chief techniques of salting:
1)wet salting
2)dry salting.

Wet Salting:
This is the cheaper, since it requires lesser
amounts of salt.
The principle is to keep the fish for a long time in
brine.
The equipment needed consists of a watertight
container, which can be a tin, drum, barrel, etc.
To make the brine, one takes four parts of clean
water (sea or fresh water) and one part of salt.
If the salt is coarse, it has to be ground or
pounded first.
It is then dissolved into the water by stirring with
a piece of wood.
To be good, the brine must float a fish.

 The next step depends on what kind of fish one

wants to salt.
It is best first to cut off the head and gut, and clean
the fish, though small fish can also be salted whole.
Large fish must be cut open, and it is preferable to
take out the backbone.

Fish with heavy armour of scales must be scaled.

In places where the flesh is thick, slashes must be
made so that the salted brine can penetrate the
flesh.

Dry Salting:
In this method the fish is salted but the

juices, slime and brine are allowed to flow

away.
Dry salting can be done in an old canoe, or on
mats, leaves, boxes, etc.
In any case, the brine formed by the fish
juices and the salt must be allowed to run
away.
For two parts of fish, one needs one part of
salt.
Layers of fish must be separated by layers of
salt.
It is a valuable method when one has no
containers.

 SUN DRYING AND DEHYDRATION

Drying is the process in which moisture is
removed by exposure to natural air current as
humidity is regulated by climatic condition.
Dehydration is the process of removing
moisture with the use of mechanical device
that provides artificial heat for drying.
Very small and thin fish can be dried straight
away in the sun if they are brought in early
enough in the morning (and if, of course, the
sun is shining!).
If these conditions are not fulfilled the fish
must be put for one night in brine, or dry
salted.
They can then be dried the next morning.

 Smoking
Any kind of fish can be smoked. There are three
main methods of smoking:
(a) cold Smoking;
(b) Hot smoking;
(c) Long smoking.

 Cold Smoking:
Cold smoking is exactly what it sounds like. Coldsmoked
fish are not cooked, because the temperature
generally does not exceed 43 C. Cold smoking is
customarily performed below 30 C to prevent
undesired changes in the muscle texture. To
maintain the proper temperature, ensure uniform
drying and preserve the desired colour, it is
necessary to use an indirect source of heat and
smoke.
The cold-smoking process is primarily used for
salmon.
Other traditional cold smoked items include black
cod (sablefish),trout, eel, herring, haddock and cod.

 Hot Smoking: The hot smoking system can be used for

immediate consumption or to keep the fish for a
maximum of 48 hours. Small fish can be salted first for
half an hour .
After salting they are put on iron spits and dried in a
windy place or in the sun for another half hour, and then
hot smoked.

The fish will be ready in about one hour. An indication that they are
done will be found in the golden yellow colour of the skin.
Hot-smoked fish are moist and juicy when properly finished. Because
of this, they have a relatively short shelf life and must be
refrigerated.

 Long Smoking: If fish must be kept in good

condition for a long time, for instance, two or
three months or even longer, it can be done by
smoking, provided the fish is not oily.
For this purpose, a small closed shed made of
palm leaves or other local material can be
used.
The dimensions of the shed depend, of course,
on the quantities of fish to be smoked, but the
height should in no case be less than six feet.
In this shed, racks are built to hang the fish
from or to lay them upon.
Hanging the fish on spits is the best method,
but they can also be laid on loosely-woven
matting.
One can start hanging fish three feet from the
bottom up to the roof.

 Chilling
This is obtained by covering the fish with layers of
ice.
However, ice alone is not effective for long
preservation .
Because melting water brings about a sort of
leaching of valuable flesh contents.
Which are responsible for the flavor.
But ice is effective for short term preservation such
as is needed to transport landed fish to nearby
markets or to canning factories etc.,

 Freezing
This is more effective than chilling.
Freezing is achieved either by using a mixture
of ice and salt or refrigeration.
The sub zero temp so obtained keeps the fish
frozen throughout.
To prevent rancidity, the frozen fish is subject
to glazing with water or it is wrapped in a
cover of moisture proof wax paper.
Glazing is dipping the frozen fish in water so
that finally a layer of hard ice surrounds the
fish.
This layer affords protection against exposure
of fish fat to atmospheric oxygen, thus
preventing rancidity.

 Canning
This is a very effective method though costly.
Product is very god and retains much of flavor.
Fish is cleaned and then cut to proper
boneless pieces in filleting plants.
The pieces are then brined or pickled to
improve taste.
Preliminary cooking is then carried out.
Cooked pieces are then put in cans.
Final cooking combines sterilization with
steam and high temperature at 110c elsius.
The cans are finally sealed in canneries.
Keeping period depends upon the quality of
raw material used as well as the vacuum
created in the sealed cans.

 Pickling

Pickling is an easy method of preserving fish. Pickled fish

must be stored in the refrigerator at no higher than 40 F
(refrigerator temperature), and for best flavor must be
used within four to six weeks.
Only a few species of fish are preserved commercially by
pickling, but almost any type of fish may be pickled at
home.
Refrigerate the fish during all stages of the
pickling process.

Transportation of fish and fish products

Development in fish preservation and transportation
has increased significantly the share of fish
production that enters international trade. Fish is
traded live, fresh, frozen, cured or canned. It is
transported by sea, air or land. Live, fresh and
frozen fish require special care in comparison with
cured or canned fish.
Important ways of transporting fish are :
Through air
Through land
Through sea(ships)
Through Boats

 Live fish
Transportation of live fish requires oxygen for respiration
and removal of the toxic gases and by-products that
accumulate, such as CO2 and ammonia. Certain fish,
like catfish, can obtain oxygen through the damp
surface of their gills or through the body skin. Other
fish, like the climbing perch, have accessory airbreathing organs. But most finfish are transported live
in water supersaturated with oxygen and kept at a
temperature low enough to reduce their metabolism.
Some tropical fish may not support temperatures below
10C.
Fish is often starved (also called conditioned) before
transportation to reduce its metabolism and increase
the packing density. Crustaceans are transported live in
wet packages using wet sawdust or other ways to keep
the atmosphere surrounding the live animals humid and
cool.

THE MAIN FACTORS AND PRINCIPLES

ASSOCIATEDWITH FISH TRANSPORT

Quality and Quantity of Fish

Oxygen
pH, Carbon Dioxide and Ammonia
Temperature
Biochemical Changes and Stress in
Transported Fish

Quality of Fish
The quality of fish transported is a decisive
criterion. The fish to be transported must be
healthy and in good condition. Weakened
individuals should be eliminated from the
consignment, particularly when the temperature
during shipment is high. When the fish are of poor
quality, even a great reduction of fish density in
the transport container fails to prevent fish losses.
Weak fish are killed at a much higher rate than
fish in good condition when the transport time is
longer.

Oxygen

The most important single factor in transporting fish is providing

an adequate level of dissolved oxygen. The ability of fish to use
oxygen depends on their tolerance to stress, water temperature,
pH, and concentrations of carbon dioxide and metabolic
products such as ammonia.
Heavier fish and those transported in warmer water need more
oxygen. For instance, if the water temperature increases by
10C (e.g., from 10 to 20C), oxygen
Some conversion coefficients of oxygen demand are indicated
by
thetype
FRG recommendation
(1979):
Fish
Oxygen
Demand
trout

2.83

perch

1.46

pike

1.10

Eel

0.83

NOTE: Taking the oxygen

demand of carp as 1

pH, Carbon Dioxide and

Ammonia
The source of the water used during transport must have been

tested before dispatching a mass consignment of fish. The water

pH level is a control factor because the proportions of toxic
ammonia and CO2contents are direct functions of pH.
With increasing transport time, CO 2production through fish
respiration shifts water pH towards acidity. Water pH levels about
78 are considered as optimum. Rapid changes in pH stress fish,
but buffers can be used to stabilize the water pH during fish
transport. The organic buffer trishydroxylmethylaminomethane is
quite effective in fresh and salt water.
Ammonia (NH3) builds up in transport water due to protein
metabolism of the fish and bacterial action on the waste.
Decreasing metabolic rate of the fish by lowering the water
temperature, and thus lessening fish activity, reduces the
production of NH3.

Biochemical Changes
and Stress in
Transported Fish
Shipment conditions also influence the
composition of fish blood and the parameters
of blood serum biochemistry. Increased
temperature and a lower fish weight-to-water
concentration ratio mean a higher number of
erythrocytes and a greater haemoglobin
concentration of fish blood. No such changes
occur at lower temperatures and a lower fish
proportion in relation to water volume

 A fish transport tank wagon (Vollmann-Schipper, 1975) M technical space and attendant's booth, U - pump and air
compressor, T - Transport tanks 1 and 2, S - oxygen cylinders,
A -tank drain, F - water aeration (for details see Fig. 50), L loading space, W - circulating water distribution system, S +
D - oxygen or compressed-air distribution system

CHEMICAL METHODS FOR WATER AND

FISH TREATMENT DURING TRANSPORT
Use of Fish Tranquilizers
Application of Sodium Chloride and
Calcium Chloride
Chemicals as Oxygen Sources (K2S2O8,
Na2S2O8, (NH4)2S2O8)
Bacteriostatic Chemicals
Buffers
Ammonia Control
Antifoam Chemicals

References

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That Was All.

Thank you for your attention.
Any Questions?