December 26, 2023

 

Indian scientists recommend utilising pearly hairtails for fishmeal production

 

 

Scientists at India's Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) have recommended tapping ribbon fish variety pearly hairtails, a deep-sea resource found in the south-eastern Arabian Sea, for fishmeal production.

 

"Pearly hairtails, encountered between 200- and 600-metre depth, have found enthusiastic acceptance from the fishmeal industry", said a paper published by CMFRI scientists recently.

 

The considerably huge assemblage of pearly hairtails offers a potential opportunity to deep-sea trawlers to diversify catch to improve returns in the midst of problems such as increased fuel cost, said the paper. At the same time, catching the non-conventional resource can considerably reduce the dependence of fishmeal factories, which now resort to using juveniles of commercially important conventional resources.

 

While pearly hairtails are edible, they are too small and present a cumbersome process for human consumption. It is suited to the Surimi industry and fishmeal sectors even as trawlers had in the past targeted non-conventional resources such as lantern fish, unicorn leather jacket, smooth bass and red-toothed trigger fish.

 

The paper said deep-sea trawlers from Kerala's southern districts, targeting shrimps and cephalopods, reported catching pearly hairtails on their return trips to enhance earnings. The fish variety has not been consistently targeted as a commercial variety as it is found in deeper areas beyond the conventional fishing grounds of territorial waters.

 

Their small size has triggered a lack of demand from commercial users, and trawlers have refrained from catching them consistently. But the demand for non-conventional varieties from fishmeal factories can change the scenario.

 

The paper said the most abundant ground had been found to be the continental slopes off Thiruvananthapuram and Kanyakumari districts at depths ranging 300-600 metres. The fish variety has been found to be migratory.

 

However, the catch rate has been encouraging at 7-10 tonnes a haul. Although, initially, only trawlers from Kerala looked to utilising the resource, trawlers from neighbouring Tamil Nadu and Karnataka have also begun to fish for pearly hairtails.

 

The paper also underscored the need for conducting detailed biological ecosystem studies to help develop a sustainable management plan for the resource.

 

- The Hindu