Skip to main content
ARS Home » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #271402

Title: Enhancing utilization of Alaska fish processing byproducts

Author
item Bechtel, Peter

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/30/2011
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Fish processing byproducts are the parts that remain after valued products such as fillets and roe are removed. Fish harvested from Alaska waters provide over half of the total wild fish harvested and processed for human consumption in the USA. Major byproducts from commercial fish processing plants include heads, viscera, frames and skin. In Alaska large amounts of pollock, salmon, cod and flat fish are harvested and processed annually, resulting in over 1 million metric tones of byproducts. Alaska fish byproducts have several advantages because they are derived from sustainable fisheries where all fish are harvested and processed for human consumption. Most, but not all, of Alaska fish processing byproduct is currently utilized, and the major use is as the raw material for making fish meals and oils. The value of fish byproducts has increased because fish meal and oil prices have increased during the past decade. There is interest in extracting more of the oil from byproducts such as salmon heads, which are good sources of oils rich in omega-3 fatty acids and other components. Low cost methods are being developed for extraction and purification of oils from salmon heads and livers of other fish species. Studies are also under way to increase utilization and value of byproduct protein by developing low cost drying and stabilization methods. A variety of different products made from livers, stomachs and other tissues are being evaluated as food and feed ingredients. Other studies include uses of byproducts as fertilizers, fuels and high value proteins such fish skin gelatins. This presentation will discuss studies being conducted by the USDA Agricultural Research Service in collaboration with the University of Alaska Fairbanks at the Fishery Industrial Technology Center in Kodiak AK and others, with the goal of increasing the utilization of fish processing byproducts.