Seafood CRC: dried WA seafood products for the Asian market: a pilot study
Workshop to implement a National Approach to Australian Salmon Market Development and Supply
Seafood CRC: waste transformation methods for value added products for the catering market
Up to 60% of food waste (including seafood waste) is potentially avoidable. In the case of seafood specifically, at least 50% of the fish is generally lost re filleting and damaged crustacea such as rock lobster, crabs and prawn sbring low return to the producer. Often there is a business cost incurred in removing seafood prodessing waste.
Reducing and transforming seafood processing waste seems essential to add profitability where possible to the Australian seafood industry.
This project will use mechanical separation, reforming by alginate and extrusion technologies from other food industries, to try and develop a range of value added products from seafood processing waste.
Final report
Initially a variety of different seafood processing waste products including picked and seconds Blue Swimmer Crabs, Snapper, Atlantic Salmon and various reef fish frames, Patagonian Toothfish frames, Western Rock Lobster legs, headed and gutted shark, low value prawns and headed and gutted Leatherjacket were transported to the Abacus Fisheries facility in Carnarvon. Mechanical separation of seafood protein from these products was optimised with subsequent data generated on recoveries, and compositional and microbiological food safety analyses. These various forms of separated seafood protein were then used for new product development trials.
During the project, a number of new technologies for seafood protein separation, stabilisation and reforming were developed that can be applied generally to seafood processing waste recovery and new product development.
Enhancing the understanding of the value provided to fisheries by man-made aquatic structures
Seafood CRC: new opportunities for underutilised species
Approximately 25,000 tonnes of finfish is not harvested in Australia each year, even though operators are licensed to do so. This is because the fish have a low market value (leatherjacket), are difficult to process (Boarfish), are very fragile and require an exacting supply chain to reach the market in satisfactory condition (sardines, Australian Salmon) or are harvested from remote areas with inadequate support infrastructure. Additional tonnage is harvested but directed to low value products such as pet food, bait and aquaculture feed (sardines, mackerel, silver warehou, bonito tuna). There are also areas (e.g. Western Deep Trawl) where little is know about the fishery resource and potential
for commercialization. And there are also fish discarded after being caught due to low market value or insufficient space for storage. Each of these under-utilised species can be used to produce high quality, fresh and processed products that could help meet the increasing demand for seafood.