The problem with arrowtooth flounder is that its flesh contains an enzyme called protease that begins digesting protein when the fish hits the stove top. A few months ago, FITC Assistant Professor Gour Choudhury invented a rapid-heating process that deactivates the protease, and may make the flounder more palatable. Another way to beat the flaccid flesh problem is to avoid using the fish as a fillet. The arrowtooth flounder can be good eating as surimi, moldable meat that is used to make imitation crab legs, or it can be turned into a powder that is used as a protein supplement for both people and livestock. Jerry Babbitt, an NMFS scientist working at FITC, is collaborating with the Kodiak-based business International Seafoods of Alaska to hone a process that turns fish into powder in just 20 minutes.
Flesh is separated from skin and bone, then cooked.
A spinning centrifuge removes most of the oil and water from the cooked fish, which is then quickly dried. What's left is a white powder that can be 96 to 97 percent protein. A test of the powdered flounder was recently performed at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Agricultural and Forestry Experimental Station. Fred Husby, acting dean of UAF's School of Agriculture and Land Resources Management, said the piglets did just fine eating the powdered arrowtooth flounder, which was substituted for traditional feed protein sources of dried whey and soybean meal. International Seafoods of Alaska also sells the powder overseas as a human diet supplement.