The measures will be primarily aimed at farming and harvesting conditions that are of significance to the end product. The project, financed by the Fisheries and Aquaculture Industry Research Fund (FHF), seeks to reduce loss by adopting advanced technology.
The research already has strong roots in the industry through a preliminary project that charted and selected problem areas in which it is important to find solutions.
In the preliminary project, “Quality improvement of salmon from breeding to fork”, the following areas were drafted:
- The most critical quality challenges for the Norwegian salmon industry. Where in the value chain does the deterioration occur and what is the cause?
- Quality parameters that can be emphasised in order to differentiate products in the future.
- Melanin spots (black/grey pigment spots) in the fillet;
- Pale and uneven fillet colour;
- Fillet gaping/soft muscle;
- Evaluating technology for bone detection.
There is no unambiguous definition of “good quality”, and different product properties are emphasised differently depending on what the market wants and application etc.
In order to increase added-value in the salmon industry, it is important to have common objectives and measurable criteria that provide answers about what pose the greatest quality challenges. This project aims to find where any possible quality defects occur and suggest measures that should be implemented to avoid these.
The way forward
Experiments designed to uncover conditions that contribute to melanin spots and pale and uneven fillet colour was started in the autumn of 2009.
Scientists Turid Mørkøre and Karsten Heia from Nofima Marin have written an in depth article on this project, which was published in Norsk fiskeoppdrett no. 3/10.
