deep, and immature krill should be handled faster and piled 

 shallower because they are more prone to degradation than mature 

 krill. 



Regardless of the method of pretreatment, it is the marketability 

 of the form of the finished product that matters. In this respect, it 

 is interesting to review the final product forms developed by 

 various national interests bearing in mind that intrinsically krill do 

 not possess any particular merits or attributes over other crusta- 

 ceans or finfish. In fact, were it not for their tremendous abun- 

 dance and nutritional potential, krill would not be the object of 

 various national surveys. 



U.S.S.R. — The Soviet Union first started its investigations of 

 krill stocks in the Antarctic summer of 1961-62 with the research 

 vessel Muksun. Since then, the greatest amount of research has 

 been carried out by the research vessel Akademik Knipovich. The 

 Soviets have almost exclusively directed their efforts to the produc- 

 tion of a paste made from krill as follows: 



1) Press raw krill for its liquid protein fraction. 



2) Collect juice under controlled conditions of time and 



temperature. 



3) Heat juice to coagulate the protein. 



4) Separate coagulated protein from liquid fraction. 



5) Condense, coagulate, and package. 



6) Freeze and store. 



The krill paste has a sweetish delicate flavor similar to shrimp 

 and is pink in color. The chief use so far has been as an additive. It 

 has been found to go well with cheese, butter, mayonnaise, and 

 various vegetables. It can also fortify such foods as salads, stuffed 

 eggs, and dumplings. Attempts have been made to make sausages 

 with as much as 60% krill paste. 



Trade sources (Anonymous 1977c) stated that a 5-yr agreement 

 had been concluded between a Norwegian fish soup manufacturer, 

 Rieber and Son of Bergen, and the Soviet Union's Ministry of 

 Fisheries. Under the terms of the agreement, they will exchange in- 

 formation on the production of krill paste for sandwiches and as 

 an additive in other foods, especially dried soups. The Soviet in- 

 vestigators have patented three products made from krill paste as 

 follows: 1) U.S.S.R. Patent 258,846 (1970) "Shrimp Butter." This 

 product contains krill paste, butter, and flavoring. 2) U.S.S.R. Pa- 

 tent 390,804 (1974) Snack Product. This product contains mussels, 

 malt extract, rye wort, krill paste, and a gelling agent. 3) U.S.S.R. 

 Patent 284,589 (1970) Krill Sausage. This product contains krill 

 paste, sodium alginate, dried milk, salt, and spices. 

 - In an effort to diversify krill products, the Russians have in- 

 vestigated methods of separating krill meat from the exoskeleton. 

 The krill are cooked and dried in a fluidized bed with short wave 

 infrared radiation. The shells are mechanically broken and remov- 

 ed. The meat and other internal organs are separated by flotation 

 in freshwater at 5°-10°C. The process has been patented under 

 U.S.S.R. Patent 581,918 (1977). 



It would appear that Soviet investigators are now de- 

 emphasizing their work on krill paste and are experimenting with 

 krill products embodying whole or nearly whole krill tail meats. 

 Grantham (1977) indicated that the krill paste was no longer being 

 marketed in the U.S.S.R. but other sources indicate that limited 

 quantities (500-800 t) are being used annually in various products. 



eaten in Japan. In recent cruises to the Antarctic, the Japanese 

 cooked and froze whole krill aboard ship and dried it ashore later. 

 The krill product apparently has not yet received as much accep- 

 tance as the regular sakura-ebi. It is interesting to note in this 

 respect the food laws of Japan require that a distinction in labeling 

 of krill be made in order to avoid deception to the consumer. 



Frozen raw krill has been offered as well as the boiled, dried pro- 

 duct since early 1978. The product is thawed and consumed raw 

 shell-on as sashimi (a general term for raw seafood) or it may be us- 

 ed as a flavoring ingredient for other dishes. It is also used as an in- 

 gredient in sushi which is made by fermentation of pickled krill, 

 boiled rice, and salt. In restaurants, the raw krill may be served 

 with boiled rice flavored with vinegar. Preliminary reports indicate 

 that the response is encouraging. 



Other product forms are frozen attrition-peeled tail meats which 

 are designed to simulate small frozen peeled shrimp. No reports 

 have been obtained on the reception this product has been accord- 

 ed. Considerable experimentation has been done with krill muscle 

 processed by meat-bone separators. The minced product may be 

 used in many ways similar to minced fish. One form of minced krill 

 may be washed, and to the resultant product sugar and starch may 

 be added to form a base for krill kamaboko. The latter is a harden- 

 ed jellied product usually not favored outside Japan. 



The 1977-78 catch for Japan was reported to be 21,000 t. The 

 chief products prepared aboard ship were peeled frozen krill, 

 frozen raw krill, boiled frozen krill, and krill meal. No information 

 is available as to how the krill was peeled, but one ship of the 

 Japanese fleet was reported to have had a shipboard facility to pro- 

 duce individually quick-frozen krill. 



Chile. — Like Argentina, Chile is nearer to abundant krill stocks 

 by many hundred miles than any other nation. Reports available 

 from the Office of International Fisheries Affairs of the National 

 Marine Fisheries Service indicate that Chile's first efforts in krill 

 exploration were made in 1975. In April of that year, the 640 t 

 vessel Valparaiso landed 40 1 of frozen krill. The Chilean Institute 

 of Fisheries Development (IFDP) reported good results with peel- 

 ing machines used aboard ship and ashore (make of machines not 

 known 3 ). IFDP and the Catholic University of Valparaiso are 

 reported to have developed over 20 different krill products which 

 include minced krill, dried krill, krill paste, and krill sticks. The 

 krill sticks were reported by the State-owned fishing company Pes- 

 quera, Chile, to have achieved good success. In 1977, Chile 

 distributed batter-dipped krill sticks at the annual trade fair in Col- 

 ogne, Germany (FRG). 



In 1978, it was reported that Chile was to construct a vessel to be 

 used in the krill fishery. The vessel was to have a carrying capacity 

 of 1 ,200 1 and a catching rate of about 100 t/d. No further reports 

 of the status of the ship construction project have been received. 

 The original plans called for a krill-catching period of about 240 d 

 for the vessel. This is an almost impossibly long krill fishing period 

 because of the natural ice restrictions on krill fishing unless fmfish 

 are to be caught. 



In 1978, reports of proposals for establishing joint ventures with 

 Chile to catch and process krill have mentioned Spain, France, and 

 Japan in particular. Nothing concrete had developed by the spring 

 of 1980. This apparent lack of firm agreements may be due in part 

 to the Chilean government's failure to adopt a proposed Krill 

 Development Law. Chilean interest in krill exploration and utiliza- 



Japan. — Small, dried whole shrimp called sakura-ebi (Sergestes 

 phosphoreus) about the size of adolescent krill, are very commonly 



Trade source indicates that the peeling was accomplished by Laitram shrimp peelers 

 made in the United States. 



