Shelf life of dried products from small indigenous fish species under various packing and storage conditions

The overall quality of five SIS products was found in good condition up to 2 months storage on the basis of organoleptic, biochemical and bacteriological characteristics and all the products was excellent in sealed packed condition up to 45 days of storage. However, quality of the products stored in open air atmospheric temperature was found excellent for first 15 days. In an average the initial moisture content was in the range of 13.5 to 15.0% with highest moisture content in puti and lowest in chapila. At the end of the 60 days the moisture content reached to the range of 18.5 to 19.0% which was more or less near the recommended limit of 16% for dried fishery products. The moisture content beyond the recommended limit as the storage period increased further and at the end of 90 days the moisture content increased to the range of 22.9 to 24% when organoleptically the product quality became very poor. The changes in the value of total volatile base nitrogen (TVB-N), peroxide value (PO), moisture and aerobic plate count (APC) of solar tunnel dried products in sealed polythene packages were investigated during 60 days of storage. There was little or no differences in TVB-N, PO and bacterial load of each species packed under various polythene density. The initial TVB-N values were in the range of 10.30 to 12.40 mg/100g of the samples. TVB-N value increased slowly up to the end of the storage period and was to in the range of 46.20 to 57.00 mg/1 00 g of sample. Initially the peroxide values (P.O.) were in the range of 6.54 to 8.40 m.eq./kg oil of the samples. During 60 days of storage, P.O. values increased slowly and at the end of the storage period these values reached to the range of 22.00 to 25.30meq./kg of sample. The initial APC was in the range 5.3xl04-7.3x104 CFU/g. The bacterial load increased slowly and at the end of the 60 days storage period reached to the range 6.6x106 - 8.6x107 CFT/g.

Boloceroides spp.

Boloceroides spp. are looking like an untidy mop, this anemone is sometimes seen in sea grass areas on many of our shores. It is possibly seasonal. Sometimes, large numbers are seen (up to 10-20 animals in a trip) and then none at all.  Tiny swimming anemones may sometimes be confused with Sea grass anemones which have translucent tentacles with tiny spots. The swimming anemone harbors symbiotic single-celled algae (zooxanthellae). The algae undergo photosynthesis to produce food from sunlight. The food produced is shared with the sea anemone, which in return provides the algae with shelter and minerals. The oral disk and tentacle muscles are used to obtain, retain, and ingest prey; in Boloceroides spp. tentacles can autotomize if it is needed to evade a predator. Tentacles can control body form by use of their endodermal muscles. Retractors are longitudinal muscles that will aid in withdrawing tentacles and the oral disk if they are exposed to the open air.  This hypothesis is furthered because in comparison to other sea anemones, Boloceroides is loosely attached to its respective substrate, thus allowing the pedal disk to detach quickly resulting in a rapid swimming response. Boloceroides can reproduce both sexually and asexually. As Anthozoans, Boloceroides produce sexually by bypassing the medusa life cycle stage; this allows Boloceroides (and all Anthozoans) to release their egg and sperm creating planula a bilaterally symmetrical, flattened, ciliated, motile larva.

An accelerated method of hot air drying of fish

The effects of temperature and relative humidity on the rate of drying of split open fish and salted fish in a tunnel dryer have been studied at a constant air velocity. By a judicious combination of these two, the rate of drying could be considerably accelerated, 10 to 12 hours only being required for drying to moisture levels below 30% in the case of mackerel, lactarius, otolithes and kilimeen (Nemipterus japonicus)