LISTEN

When fish are processed in trawlers at sea, the animals' heads, guts and skeletons all just go overboard. It's a lot of waste, and Norway's SINTEF research group is doing something about it. Working with commercial fishing company Nordic Wildfish, it's developed a system that puts everything but the bones to use.

The prototype system has been installed onboard an existing trawler, and starts by using a hydrolysis process to separate the bones from the rest of the fish waste – hydrolysis is the breakdown of a compound due to a reaction with water. 

After the bones are discarded, what's left is described as a "soup" to which enzymes are added. The addition of those enzymes allows oils, proteins and amino acids to be extracted, which could subsequently find use in animal feed or even human food.

 

Read the full story

Have you listened to this article via the audio player above?

If so, send us your feedback around what we can do to improve this feature or further develop it. If not, check it out and let us know what you think via email or on social media.

A collection of stories from guest authors.

Join the Conversation