Utilization of Pacific hake (Merluccius productus) in thermally processed products
Creators: name: Boey, Chee Cheong
Publisher: name: University of British Columbia
Year: 2010

description: The potential of Pacific hake (Merluccius productus), which occur in Pacific north east waters, for human consumption is of interest because the biomass of the fish is known to be of significant size. However, this resource has not been fully exploited by the local fishing industry. The presence of Myxosporean parasite spores in the fish muscle is thought to cause a soft cooked fish texture, thus giving rise to problems in processing and affecting the marketability of the fish product. Studies were conducted on the textural properties of Pacific hake from two different fishing areas with different postharvest handling treatments. Fish samples from the Strait of Georgia and from offshore waters west of Vancouver Island were obtained from commercial sources. The west coast offshore hake samples were obtained in frozen form. They were thawed, filleted, vacuum-packed in barrier bags and refrozen for storage at -29°C. Two batches of fish chilled in refrigerated sea water were available from Georgia Strait. One of these batches was frozen immediately when received and subsequently processed similar to the west coast samples, whereas the other batch was chilled in ice for 1-3 days after landing while the fish were progressively processed into fillets for frozen storage at -29°C. The presence and types of species of Myxosporean parasite spores in fish fillets were determined by light and scanning electron microscopy. The fillets were grouped according to the level of infection in terms of the numbers of parasite spores determined by wet mount microscopic examination. The potential of Pacific hake (Merluccius productus), which occur in Pacific north east waters, for human consumption is of interest because the biomass of the fish is known to be of significant size. However, this resource has not been fully exploited by the local fishing industry. The presence of Myxosporean parasite spores in the fish muscle is thought to cause a soft cooked fish texture, thus giving rise to problems in processing and affecting the marketability of the fish product. Studies were conducted on the textural properties of Pacific hake from two different fishing areas with different postharvest handling treatments. Fish samples from the Strait of Georgia and from offshore waters west of Vancouver Island were obtained from commercial sources. The west coast offshore hake samples were obtained in frozen form. They were thawed, filleted, vacuum-packed in barrier bags and refrozen for storage at -29°C. Two batches of fish chilled in refrigerated sea water were available from Georgia Strait. One of these batches was frozen immediately when received and subsequently processed similar to the west coast samples, whereas the other batch was chilled in ice for 1-3 days after landing while the fish were progressively processed into fillets for frozen storage at -29°C. The presence and types of species of Myxosporean parasite spores in fish fillets were determined by light and scanning electron microscopy. The fillets were grouped according to the level of infection in terms of the numbers of parasite spores determined by wet mount microscopic examination.