A fish fillet processor processes

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 ...

into a

fillet Fillet may refer to: *Annulet (architecture), part of a column capital, also called a fillet *Fillet (aircraft), a fairing smoothing the airflow at a joint between two components *Fillet (clothing), a headband *Fillet (cut), a piece of meat *Fille ...

. Fish processing starts from the time the fish is caught. Popular

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

processed 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 ( ...

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 wher ...

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 len ...

, herring, mackerel,

salmon Salmon () is the common name for several commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family Salmonidae, which are native to tributaries of the North Atlantic (genus ''Salmo'') and North Pacific (genus '' Oncorhy ...

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 ...

. Commercial fish processing is a global practice. Processing varies regionally in

productivity Productivity is the efficiency of production of goods or services expressed by some measure. Measurements of productivity are often expressed as a ratio of an aggregate output to a single input or an aggregate input used in a production proces ...

, type of operation, yield and regulation. Approximately 90% of processed fish are oceanic fish. The remaining 10% are from conciliatory freshwater operations and aquacultural production. Most fish processing industries are near commercial fishing zones. In certain regions, fish are transported or exported for processing.

Major fish processing countries

The largest

processing countries in order are: These countries produce over half the

world In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...

fish products Fish and fish products are consumed as food all over the world. With other seafoods, they provides the world's prime source of high-quality protein; 14–16 percent of the animal protein consumed worldwide. Over one billion people rely on fish a ...

. The Pacific Northwest region of the United States provider the greatest volume.

Uses of processed fish

Seventy-five percent of fish processed is for human consumption. Fish oil and fish meal comprise the remaining 25% of fish processing, with fish meal predominantly used in livestock feed and aquaculture. Fresh fish accounts for 30% of production. Most processed fish is sold frozen as fillets or whole fish, canned fish and as other

fish protein Many species of fish are caught by humans and consumed as food in virtually all regions around the world. Fish has been an important dietary source of protein and other nutrients throughout human history. The English language does not have ...

products (e.g. surimi). The consumption of frozen fish products as ready-to-eat meals, fillets, and whole fish is increasing globally.

Processing procedures

Processing can start either 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 ...

or at the plants. For example, some time the fishes are beheaded and gutted on par the fishing vessel its self. The process involved in filleting of whitefish is moderately different as compared to the filleting of

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 smal ...

Whitefish

In certain fish processing industries, filleting is done manually. The fish is be-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 frozen in cold storage.

Processing of oily fish

Oily fish have oils throughout their tissues and in the stomach cavity around the gut. Up to 30% of oil is found in the fillet, varying across species. Examples of oily fish include

, mackerel, herring 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 ...

. Due to the oil content, gutting and heading is avoided to reduce the risk associated with oily surfaces. The oily skin is kept as it retains the quality of the flesh. The filleting process is almost the same for the whitefish breeds, but oily fish is mostly canned.

References