Madakia, Haniff

Aquatic Commons

Development Of An Underutilized Fish Species 
-  Male Capelin (Mallotus villosus)
HANIFF MADAKIA
Maritime Fisheries Development Consultants Ltd 
Newfoundland, Canada
Introduction
Capelin, (Mallotus villosus) are found in 
abundance off the coast of Newfoundland and 
Labrador. During June and July each year several 
stocks migrate inshore to spawn. About one month 
prior to spawning, external sexual characteristics 
develop on the male. These changes are in the form 
of spawning ridges along the lateral line and en­
larged fins, giving the male a robust appearance 
while the female retains its delicate silvery form. 
During this time, the males and the females are 
easily distinguishable and can be mechanically or 
manually separated. During the rest of the year, the 
sexes are almost indistinguishable.
Historically, capelin have been consumed lo­
cally in Newfoundland and Labrador in fresh or 
corned and dried form. Relatively large quantities 
have been used as fertilizer and as bait for other 
fisheries, zoofood and fishmeal. Most of the male 
capelin have been dumped.
In the latter part of the 1970’s, an inshore 
capelin fishery began in Newfoundland, to supply 
mature roe-bearing female capelin to the Japanese 
market. The production of frozen roe-bearing 
female capelin has risen dramatically, from 369 mt 
valued at less than one million dollars Canadian in 
1977, to 35,310 mt valued at 52 million dollars 
Canadian in 1990. Fig. 1 illustrates the increase in 
landings of Newfoundland capelin.
In recent years, Newfoundland processors 
have collectively exported annually an average of 
35,000 mt of frozen roe-bearing female capelin. 
To arrive at this quantity of female capelin, at least 
an equal volume (ie. 35,000 mt) of male capelin 
must be harvested, and, indeed, much higher male- 
to-female ratios have been used. In 1987, it was
estimated that the catch production ratio was 2.5:1 
(ie. 2.5 mt of mixed capelin were needed to produce 
one mt of female capelin). The capelin quota has 
conventionally been fixed on market demand for 
females. No adequate market for this surplus male 
capelin has been established and a very large per­
centage is discarded. This is a huge, potentially 
available, underutilized fish species.
During 1989 and 1990, the Canada/New- 
foundland Inshore F isheries Developm ent 
Agreement (NIFDA) Discards Program provided 
funding for several projects dealing with the 
utilization of discarded male capelin. These 
projects are summarized below.
Protein Supplement Project (Triposha)
Objective
The project was designed to examine the pos­
sibility of producing an economical supplement 
fish protein isolate from male capelin.
Purpose And Rationale
Traditional food materials of poor nutritional 
quality can be improved through the use of sup­
plemental protein products. Fish has long been 
identified as a source of high-quality protein. Con­
sequently the aim was to develop a dry soluble 
shelf stable powder derived principally from male 
capelin. This fish powder could be marketed alone 
as a source of high quality protein or combined into 
a composite product to improve the nutritional 
quality of traditional foods.
In early 1989, NIFDA in response to a project 
proposal by FADA (Fish Aid Development As-
Special Paper: Madakia 19
sociation) provided funding for the Marine In­
stitute to research and develop such a product.
A similar product is currently in use in 
Southeast Asia to provide supplemental nutrition 
to pregnant and nursing mothers and young 
children.
Results
The successful development of a low-cost 
protein supplement depends on the utilization of a 
practical method of (a) reducing the lipid (fat) 
content of the raw material; this concurrently 
reduces the disagreeable fishy odour (present in the 
lipid fraction) and (b) the utilization of a non­
destructive means of drying.
Conclusion
A high-quality, functional supplemental fish 
protein isolate can be produced economically using
traditional food processing equipment, given a 
cheap source of starting material. Male capelin 
may be classified as such a cheap starting material. 
While the finished product may be produced 
economically, it remains to be seen whether 
reasonable markets for such a product exist.
Pickled Capelin, Desalted And Dried 
Objective
This project was designed to determine the 
possibility of producing dried male capelin with 
low salt content as a source of human food for the 
Central African market or as a high priced pet food 
for the Scandinavian market.
Purpose And Rationale
Traditional dried male capelin have long been 
produced from corned capelin during the "capelin
Fig. 1. Capelin landings and exports of Newfoundland and Labrador.
20 Advances in Fishery Post-Harvest Technology
scull" in June and July. The resulting product, 
when dried to a moisture content of 20% or less, 
often had a salt content of 12-16%. Attempts to dry 
capelin without salt during this time of the year 
resulted in the products being infested with flies 
and maggots.
Results
The method developed enables male capelin 
to be salted in reusable 100kg barrels using a ‘hard 
cure’. The barrels can then be held under proper 
chill conditions, with the liquid level kept properly 
topped up, for several months.
During September, October and November, 
these barrelled capelin can be desalted to about 1% 
salt level, wet weight. The desalted capelin can 
then be dried, either by sun-drying or mechanical 
dryer.
The resu ltin g  product would sa tisfy  
specifications for low-salt dried capelin, with a salt 
content less than 5%. Phase one of NIFDA’s invol­
vement in the product was to provide financial 
assistance to companies for the production of pilot 
quantities of this product for market analysis.
The production of pilot quantities identified 
a problem. The spreading of the desalted capelin 
on the racks for drying proved to be a very labour- 
intensive phase and one which threatened to 
endanger the profitability of the whole process. 
Without mechanical aid, it required one person- 
hour to position two flakes, spread 72 lb of capelin, 
and place the flakes into position for drying.
Consequently, NIFDA responded to a 
proposal from FADA to provide financial assis­
tance to develop a ‘capelin spreading device’ to 
make the process more economically viable. The 
automatic spreading machine reduced the time 
necessary to spread the capelin. Final tests indi­
cated that in one person-hour, use of the spreader 
resulted in 12 flakes, with approximately 430 lb of 
capelin spread and readied for drying.
Conclusion
It was proven that good quality low-salt, 
dried capelin could be produced using this method.
Furthermore, the labour-cost savings realized by 
using the automatic spreader during the latter part 
of the project proved that the process was economi­
cally viable. A further test involving 100,000 lb of 
‘hard cure’ capelin, utilizing the automatic 
spreader, will take place within the next couple of 
months.
Capelin Pub Snack
Objective
To produce an acceptable smoked pub snack 
product from male capelin; one that is safe, 
desirable, of consistent quality and capable of 
being kept without refrigeration.
Purpose And Rationale
A pub snack product has been produced pre­
viously in Newfoundland in an effort to utilize 
male capelin and to cater to a local taste preference 
for capelin. Production was sporadic and product 
consistency with regard to smoke, moisture and 
salt content were difficult to maintain. Although 
the product was popular it had limited shelf life 
unless frozen.
Results
A range of smoked pub snacks was produced 
from frozen and pickled male capelin. These were 
produced from round capelin, knobbed capelin, 
and tail-off butterfly fillets. The aim was to select 
the most desirable product for subsequent market 
survey. It was obvious that the butterfly fillet was 
the most attractive and that it was superior to the 
round or knobbed capelin. It was also easier to 
smoke the butterfly fillet and to reduce its high 
moisture content. The Baader 561 machine was 
used for knobbing, while the Baader 134 machine 
was used for filleting the male capelin.
Hot and cold smoked products were also 
produced. In cold smoking, the temperature does 
not exceed 30°C and the product is not cooked. In 
hot smoking, a temperature of 70°C or higher is 
attained and the product is cooked. The hot
Special Paper: Madakia 21
smoked product was drier, took on a smoke flavour 
and a better colour, had a better overall appearance, 
and required a much shorter time to smoke (hot 
smoking of butterfly fillets took two hours com­
pared to 5 hours for the cold smoking process).
Different concentrations of brine, sugar, dye 
and varied smoking times were used to produce a 
range of products. Sugar and salt are commonly 
used to prevent or limit the growth of microor­
ganism s and w ere se lec ted  as optional 
preservatives. Different concentrations of brine 
(30°-70° brine), sugar (0%-20%), annatto dye (0-6 
mls of dye/4.5 l of water), dipping times (15-60 
seconds) and hot smoking times (½- 3½ hours) were
used to produce a wide range of smoked (butterfly 
fillet) products.
A taste panel found that the most preferred 
smoked capelin pub snack had the following 
specifications:
Type Butterfly fillet
Dye (annatto) Nil
Sugar concentration Nil
Brine concentration 30° brine
Brining or dip time 45 seconds
Smoke time 30°C (½ hour) -
50°C (½ hour) -
70° (½ hour) -
90° (½ hour)
Break (¼ hour)
Salt (water phase) >9%
Moisture content 48% - 52%
Water activity (Aw) <0.93
Notes:
1. 30° brine is produced by adding 3.91 kg of 
fine salt (NaCl) to 45.5 kg of water.
2. An allowance of 15 min is given to clear the 
smoke at the end of the smoke time.
Three types of packaging used were:
• vacuum pack,
• shrink pack, and
• modified atmosphere pack (M.A.P.)
The vacuum pack gave the best results as the 
product kept well without refrigeration for more 
than four months at room temperature. The 
product must exceed 9% salt in the water phase to 
prevent growth of Clostridium botulinum. Results 
were quite promising in the modified atmosphere 
pack, where the composition of gases were in the 
following proportion: (1) 75% nitrogen and 25% 
carbon dioxide, (2) 30% nitrogen, 10% oxygen and 
60% carbon dioxide. As this was a more expensive 
packaged product, only limited studies were con­
ducted.
Samples of the selected pub snack produced 
on a pilot scale were used to conduct the market 
study. Samples were distributed to pubs and con­
venience stores in St. John’s. Out of a total of 367 
surveyed, 90% liked the product and were inter­
ested in buying it.
Conclusion
The vacuum packed, butterfly fillet, hot 
smoked product kept well without refrigeration. 
This product passed the test of consumer accept­
ability which was ascertained through a market 
survey carried at pubs and convenience stores in 
St. John’s. The objective set out in this project was 
achieved.
Process Summary
The following is a brief description of the 
processing of smoked capelin pub snack (also see - 
Fig. 2).
1. Butterfly fillets were produced using pre­
viously frozen (thawed overnight) male
capelin using the Baader 134.
2. The fillets were washed automatically during
the filleting process.
22 Advances in Fishery Post-Harvest Technology
3. The fillets were sorted to weed out the defec­
tive fillets (4% defective fillet level was 
acceptable).
4. Approximately 6.7 kg of fillets in a per­
forated pan were dipped and agitated 
manually in a 30° brine for 45 sec. The salt 
content of the fillet was approximately 2.0% 
at the stage before smoking.
5. The fillets were racked and smoked for a total 
of two hours at temperatures increasing at 
half hour intervals (30°C, 50°C, 70°C, and 
90°C, respectively). The humidity in the 
smoker must be regulated to produce a 
desirable smoked product.
6. The product was taken out of the smoker and 
cooled to room temperature for 15 minutes. 
(This prevents condensation of the moisture 
in the vacuum pack.)
7. The product was packed with three fillets in 
each package.
Fig. 2. Flow chart of the process
8. Each package was checked for proper 
vacuum sealing. (The badly sealed package 
will develop moulds within a couple of 
weeks, when stored at room temperature. 
This may be used as a practical additional 
check against poor sealing).
Chandra, C.V., and Samson L. 1991. Capelin pub snack 
project report. Canada/Newfoundland Inshore 
Fisheries Development Agreement, St. John’s, 
Newfoundland.
Discussion
In the discussion, Mr Madakia explained that the 
capelin in these studies were harvested before the spawn­
ing season, and that desalting of the salted capelin was 
done by placing them in water at low temperature.
Since preservation made use of only 9% NaCl, Mr 
Madakia was asked whether there were cases of 
Clostridium botulinum poisoning in Newfoundland. He 
said that so far no cases had been reported. Dr Strom 
remarked that in Norway where analysis of the internal 
contents of the capelin were conducted, no case of C. 
botulinum infection had been reported but there had been 
some cases of bacillus infection.
Discussing the packaging of capelin pub snack, 
Mr Madakia explained that trials of vacuum-pack and 
modified atmospheric pack (MAP) did not show sig­
nificant differences. However, the use of vacuum pack 
had been pursued because this method was cheaper than 
MAP. Furthermore, products in vacuum pack have kept 
well at room temperature for more than four months.
The Chairman commended the study for its suc­
cessful utilization of a material formerly dumped as 
waste to produce fish products.


Development of an underutilized fish species - male capelin (Mallotus villosus)

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Development of an underutilized fish species - male capelin (Mallotus villosus)

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