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James Hutton Institute launches survey to unlock fish by-products’ potential
September 6, 2024 By Hatchery International staff
Researchers from the James Hutton Institute in Aberdeen, Scotland created a survey to understand the potential of fish by-products.
The team of researchers has been examining opportunities to achieve better value throughout the seafood supply chain, including from by-products. In Scotland, fish oil and fish meal are already produced as by-products. Meanwhile, other countries are extracting insulin from fish eyes, making leather and skin grafts from fish skin, and using shellfish shells for land drainage.
They’re calling on the wider seafood sector to take an online survey to help them understand the potential. “We would like the industry to help us identify where the best opportunities are and find ways to overcome the barriers to unlock them,” said Dr Nazli Koseoglu, an applied economist at the Hutton.
Koseoglu said there’s a lack of data in the seafood industry on what could be processed, which makes this survey important.
“Initial findings suggest there are other challenges, such as the cost of labour for processing, which would be needed to segregate materials for use, as well as storage of by-products and the variability of catch, which makes scaling and setting up supply chains difficult,” Koseoglu added.
The survey is part of an EU-wide project called LOWINFOOD, which will be shared with U.K. and EU policymakers, and could help further unlock opportunities for the seafood sector in Europe and the world. It is open until the end of October and those participating will be entered into a prize draw to win one of several £50 gift cards to spend in a store of their choice.
At the end, there will be an event bringing in stakeholders from across the fish and seafood supply chain, including survey participants, to share the results.
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