A fish company is a company which specializes in the processing of fish products. Fish that are processed by a fish company include

cod Cod is the common name for the demersal fish genus '' Gadus'', belonging to the family Gadidae. Cod is also used as part of the common name for a number of other fish species, and one species that belongs to genus ''Gadus'' is commonly not call ...

hake The term hake refers to fish in the: * Family Merlucciidae of northern and southern oceans * Family Phycidae (sometimes considered the subfamily Phycinae in the family Gadidae) of the northern oceans Hake Hake is in the same taxonomic order (Gad ...

haddock The haddock (''Melanogrammus aeglefinus'') is a saltwater ray-finned fish from the family Gadidae, the true cods. It is the only species in the monotypic genus ''Melanogrammus''. It is found in the North Atlantic Ocean and associated seas where ...

tuna A tuna is a saltwater fish that belongs to the tribe Thunnini, a subgrouping of the Scombridae (mackerel) family. The Thunnini comprise 15 species across five genera, the sizes of which vary greatly, ranging from the bullet tuna (max length: ...

herring Herring are forage fish, mostly belonging to the family of Clupeidae. Herring often move in large schools around fishing banks and near the coast, found particularly in shallow, temperate waters of the North Pacific and North Atlantic Oceans, i ...

mackerel Mackerel is a common name applied to a number of different species of pelagic fish, mostly from the family Scombridae. They are found in both temperate and tropical seas, mostly living along the coast or offshore in the oceanic environment. ...

salmon Salmon () is the common name for several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family (biology), family Salmonidae, which are native to tributary, tributaries of the ...

and

pollock Pollock or pollack (pronounced ) is the common name used for either of the two species of North Atlantic marine fish in the genus ''Pollachius''. ''Pollachius pollachius'' is referred to as pollock in North America, Ireland and the United Kingd ...

. The

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

and

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

have the highest number of fish companies specializing in

fish processing The term fish processing refers 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. Although the term refers specifically to fish, in ...

. The Northwest Pacific Ocean is considered to be the most vital fishing zone in terms of volume caught and processed which results in the United States being regarded as the number one fish producing country. In

developing countries A developing country is a sovereign state with a lesser developed industrial base and a lower Human Development Index (HDI) relative to other countries. However, this definition is not universally agreed upon. There is also no clear agreem ...

, the livelihood of over 500 million people depends on

fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...

and seafood products.

Processing of fish

Stages in the processing of fish species are: *

sorting Sorting refers to ordering data in an increasing or decreasing manner according to some linear relationship among the data items. # ordering: arranging items in a sequence ordered by some criterion; # categorizing: grouping items with similar pro ...

* dressing *

cutting Cutting is the separation or opening of a physical object, into two or more portions, through the application of an acutely directed force. Implements commonly used for wikt:cut, cutting are the knife and saw, or in medicine and science the scal ...

* eviscerating *

skinning Skinning is the act of skin removal. The process is done by humans to animals, mainly as a means to prepare the meat beneath for cooking and consumption, or to harvest the skin for making fur clothing or tanning it to make leather. The skin ...

* pre-cooking *

breading Bread crumbs or breadcrumbs (regional variants including breading and crispies) consist of crumbled bread of various dryness, sometimes with seasonings added, used for breading or crumbing foods, topping casseroles, stuffing poultry, thickening ...

* spicing *

blanching Blanch or blanching may refer to: People * Andrea Blanch (born 1935), portrait, commercial, and fine art photographer * Arnold Blanch (1896–1968), born and raised in Mantorville, Minnesota * Stuart Blanch, Baron Blanch (1918–1994), Anglican bi ...

* filleting * salting * packing The steps that are applied by fish companies in the production of fish are: * pretreatment * filleting * grading and trimming * package * storage Fish processing can occur on the boat and fish processing vessels, and a
fish processing plants

Processing of whitefish

Whitefish is a

fishery Fishery can mean either the enterprise of raising or harvesting fish and other aquatic life; or more commonly, the site where such enterprise takes place ( a.k.a. fishing ground). Commercial fisheries include wild fisheries and fish farms, both ...

term used to define species with fins such as cod, hake, whiting, haddock and pollock. White fish has dry and white flesh and is easy to fillet. Unlike

oily fish Oily fish are fish species with oil (fats) in soft tissues and in the coelomic cavity around the gut. Their fillets may contain up to 30% oil, although this figure varies both within and between species. Examples of oily fish include small ...

, whitefish contains oil in their liver and therefore the fish can be gutted, trimmed and de-headed immediately after being caught, that is on the

fishing vessel A fishing vessel is a boat or ship used to catch fish in the sea, or on a lake or river. Many different kinds of vessels are used in commercial, artisanal and recreational fishing. The total number of fishing vessels in the world in 2016 was es ...

. After this process, the fish are kept in boxes and kept frozen by placing it on ice. Upon arrival at the processing plant the fish are freed from ice and kept in chilled storage so as to preserve the fish for further processing. The fish are cleaned for blood, bones fins, black membrane, and fleas, loose fish scales, de-headed and graded according to the required size. This is known as the pretreatment and trimming stage. The filleting process of the fish starts after the pretreatment and trimming stage. Fish filleting is either done by mechanical filleting machine or by hand. The machine which is used for the production of fish fillet has cutting knives which cut the fillet from the backbone and take out the collarbone. The filleting department and the pretreatment department are always separated from each other because ensures that workers from non-sterile pretreatment area are not coming across the

hygienic Hygiene is a series of practices performed to preserve health. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), "Hygiene refers to conditions and practices that help to maintain health and prevent the spread of diseases." Personal hygiene refer ...

filleting care area. The trimming department is controlled by operational inspectors to ensure that the company has met the

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to risk management, the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are ...

principles and procedures. If defects are found, corrective actions are taken by the food safety management. This is known as Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP). After the filleting process,

of the fish takes place and then the fish fillet is processed into end products such as frozen fish fillet, moulded loins fillet or smoked fish fillet. The fish fillet may be divided into fish loins, fish fillet tail, etc. It is then packed in blocks and kept in cold storage.

Processing of oily fish

Oily fish Oily fish are fish species with oil (fats) in soft tissues and in the coelomic cavity around the gut. Their fillets may contain up to 30% oil, although this figure varies both within and between species. Examples of oily fish include small ...

have oils throughout their tissues and around the gut. Examples of oily fish are

and

anchovy An anchovy is a small, common forage fish of the family Engraulidae. Most species are found in marine waters, but several will enter brackish water, and some in South America are restricted to fresh water. More than 140 species are placed in 1 ...

. Oily fish is not headed and gutted on the

because it contains oil and this can be hazardous as it will lead to oily surfaces. Thus, to minimize risk, oily fish are processed at the fish processing plant itself. The filleting process is almost the same the whitefish but oily fish is mostly used as canned fish.

Filleting by hand

In some fish companies, fish filleting is done manually. This way of fish processing involves high labor costs. During the processing of fish fillet, the stages are same as the processing of whitefish but the fish are filleted by hand rather than machine. The fish is headed, gutted, de-iced and de-scaled. It is then graded and filleted by hand. After the processing phase, the fish fillet is trimmed for blood, bones fins, black membrane, fleas, loose fish scales and sorted. It is then packed and kept frozen in cold storage.

Food safety

Fish companies need food safety certification to ensure that the processing has been carried out in a healthy manner. One of the common certifications is Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points) (HACCP). HACCP is a system which identifies hazards and implements measures for their control. It was developed in 1960 by NASA to ensure food safety for the manned space program. The main objectives of NASA were to prevent food safety problems and control food borne diseases. HACCP has been used by the food industry since the late 1970. HACCP is certified by the: * FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization) * Codex Alimentarius (a commission of the United Nations), * FDA (US Food and Drug Administration), * European Union * WHO (World Health Organization) There are seven elements to HACCP: * conduct a hazard analysis. * after assessing all the processing steps, the Critical Control Point (CCP) is controlled. CCP are points which determine and control significant hazards in a food manufacturing process. * set up critical limits in order to ensure that the hazard identified is being controlled effectively. * establish a system so as to monitor the CCP. * establish corrective actions where the critical limit has not been met. Actions need to be taken which can be on a short or long-term basis. Records must be kept. * establish authentication procedures so as to confirm if the principles imposed by HACCP documents are being respected and all records are being taken. * analyze if the HACCP plans are working effectively.

Sustainability

Fish consumption is increasing worldwide. Millions of people are dependent to fish products as fish consists of

protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, respo ...

and is a good meal for health. In order to safeguard

fish stocks Fish stocks are subpopulations of a particular species of fish, for which intrinsic parameters (growth, recruitment, mortality and fishing mortality) are traditionally regarded as the significant factors determining the stock's population dyna ...

, fish companies have to join certifications which will contribute to sustainable fishing. Common certifications are: *

Marine Stewardship Council The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) is a non-profit organization which aims to set standards for sustainable fishing. Fisheries that wish to demonstrate they are well-managed and sustainable compared to the MSC's standards are assessed by a te ...

Friend of the Sea Friend of the Sea is a project of the World Sustainability Organization for the certification and promotion of seafood from sustainable fisheries and sustainable aquaculture. It is the only certification scheme which, with the same logo, certifies ...

Marine Stewardship Council

Marine Stewardship council The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) is a non-profit organization which aims to set standards for sustainable fishing. Fisheries that wish to demonstrate they are well-managed and sustainable compared to the MSC's standards are assessed by a te ...

is a

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

that works with

fisheries Fishery can mean either the enterprise of raising or harvesting fish and other aquatic life; or more commonly, the site where such enterprise takes place ( a.k.a. fishing ground). Commercial fisheries include wild fisheries and fish farms, both ...

and seafood companies in order to contribute to the

marine environment Marine habitats are habitats that support marine life. Marine life depends in some way on the saltwater that is in the sea (the term ''marine'' comes from the Latin ''mare'', meaning sea or ocean). A habitat is an ecological or environmental ...

by recognizing and rewarding sustainable fishing practices. MSC also educates the population about the importance of choosing

sustainable seafood Sustainable seafood is seafood that is caught or farmed in ways that consider the long-term vitality of harvested species and the well-being of the oceans, as well as the livelihoods of fisheries-dependent communities. It was first promoted throug ...

and how they can contribute to the

marine ecosystem Marine ecosystems are the largest of Earth's aquatic ecosystems and exist in waters that have a high salt content. These systems contrast with freshwater ecosystems, which have a lower salt content. Marine waters cover more than 70% of the surf ...

. The MSC program is based on three main principles: * managing fish stock * minimize the impacts of the ecosystem * good fishery management system Fish Company acquires the MSC eco-label only if the seafood product is traceable from boat to plate. This is called the Chain of Custody. The traceability process ensures that consumers are getting what they are paying for, which means that the seafood they are purchasing has been fished sustainably. The bar codes on the fish products can be traced back from consumers to supplier in case of any problem related to the consumed product. The MSC chain of custody certification is validated on a three years basis so as to ensure that the fish company continues to catch fish in sustainable ways and their loyalty to sustainable seafood has been maintained. Nowadays, customers find the MSC blue label on more than 600 products worldwide. There has also been 76 percent increase in worldwide sales of MSC labeled products as compared to 2009.

Friend of the Sea

is an international non-governmental organization which seeks to safeguard the

by working with fisheries and fish companies. Friend of the Sea works in conjunction with the article ''30 FAO Guidelines for Ecolabelling of Marine Fisheries.'' The article states that seafood products can only be certified if the targeted species is not over-exploited. To achieve Friend of the Sea certification, fisheries need to abide with the following criteria: * marine species should not be over-fished * the method of fishing should not impact the seafloor * the method of fishing should generate a maximum of 8% discards * all laws and regulations should be respected * endangered species should not be by-catch

Usage

Fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...

Fishing industry The fishing industry includes any industry or activity concerned with taking, culturing, processing, preserving, storing, transporting, marketing or selling fish or fish products. It is defined by the Food and Agriculture Organization as including ...

References

{{Reflist Seafood