UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROUNA 



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The underutilized fish marl<et 



Creating demand for a plentiful supply 



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Two pounds of minced fish tissue mixed with 

 eleven ounces of dry milk, liquid artificial smoke and 

 miscellaneous spices, baked in a hot oven for 45 to 50 

 minutes. . . 



While this curious concoction for fish luncheon loaf 

 may not sound as exotic as James Beard's Shrimp de 

 Jonghe, it does have a special meaning to nutrition 

 experts, budget-minded consumers and to the fisher- 

 men of North Carolina. What do these three groups 

 have in common? According to seafood researchers, 

 fish luncheon loaf is just one of the many ways in 

 which presently "underutilized" fish species such as 

 the croaker, spot, mullet, Spanish mackerel and grey 

 trout, could be used to provide a low cost, low fat, 

 high protein food product, while creating a ready 

 market for resources currently left at sea. 



Representatives from virtually every segment of 

 the seafood industry are beginning to perk up their 

 ears at the word underutilized as researchers in 

 North Carolina and other coastal states examine the 

 marketing potential for underutilized fish species at 

 home and abroad. 



Nearly every time that a fisherman retrieves his 

 nets, various non-target or incidJntial fish are 

 caught. These are species that the fisherman is not 

 particularly interested in because of size or because 

 the fish will not bring a high enough return on the 

 market. What the fisherman then does with these in- 

 cidential fish varies from boat to boat. He either 

 throws the fish back overboard or packs them on ice 

 as he would the target catch. 



Although figures vary, one estimate concludes that 

 along the north central Gulf coast (including 

 Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana), nearly 19 

 pounds of finfish are thrown overboard for every 

 pound of shrimp caught. That means that approx- 



(See "Processing, " p. 2) 



D-1 



