Fishmeal

Fishmeal is a brown color powder produced by cooking ,dry pressing and squeezing fish trimmings or raw fish.75% of fish meal is produced from Pelagic fish and the remaining 25% comes from the fish trimmings. Pelagic fish are a species of fish which are found in the top sea levels in large schools. These species feed on plankton and pelagic fish are generally fattier than other species of fish. Reportedly of the 90 million tons of fish that is brought to land by fishing 1/3 of the catch is turned into fish meal and fish oil and the remaining is sold as frozen or canned fish. Fish meal constitutes 60-72 % protein,5-12 % fat, 10-20% ash and a high percentage of omega 3 fatty acids. Fishmeal has being produced for a very long time and used as fertilizer and salmon feed but in recent time it is solely used only as fish feed.The production of fish meal and fish oil has grown in importance due to the rise in price thus making it economically profitable. The production involves three steps. The fish is inspected, cleaned and cooked at 95`c which will sterilize the fish and also separate out the oils. The fish is then squeezed to remove the remaining oils .The squeezed material is left to dry and is sold as fish meal.