Abstract:
Low-cost and underutilized fish species often receive limited market value because of their small size, undesirable appearance, high perishability, seasonal availability, or limited consumer preference. Processing these fish into value-added products such as fish balls, nuggets, sausages, burgers, patties and imitation crab sticks can improve resource utilization and increase economic returns. Surimi technology is particularly useful because it concentrates functional myofibrillar proteins and allows different fish species to be converted into standardized products. Recent studies have demonstrated the potential of Indian mackerel, Indian major carps, tilapia and other species for surimi and restructured seafood production. Proper washing, dewatering, salt extraction, formulation, heating and frozen storage are important for obtaining desirable texture, colour and water-holding capacity (Somjid
et al., 2021; Gore
et al., 2022; Xie
et al., 2024). Fish analogue production can therefore contribute to post-harvest loss reduction, livelihood development and sustainable fisheries resource utilization.
