D2o—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, September 19,1981 Researchers efforts turn ‘trash fish 9 COLLEGE PARK, Md. - A research scientist for the Maryland Agricultural Ex periment Station has developed a new technique that could turn a million-dollar headache for U.S. commercial fishermen into a million-dollar business. And when Toufik Hassan, a food science doctoral candidate at the University of Maryland, talks about chicken feed he isn’t referring to the magnitude of profit potential—he’s talking about the real thing: chicken feed. A major problem of the com mercial fishing industry is the disposal of “trash fish,” under utilized species that have low economic value but can comprise as much as 50 percent of every catch pulled in by fishermen. “Instead of throwing them back into the sea like so much garbage the common practice today why not turn them into something useful, like chicken feed?” asks Hassan. The notion of manufacturing “fish silage” as a high-quality food prompting fast growth in poultry was pioneered by the Swedes in the 19th Century, but Hassan’s novel approach solves a multitude of economic and technology related problems. His technique is disarmingly simple and essentially turns a commercial fishing vessel into a floating two-industry factory one to catch fish marketable for human consumption, and two, a chicken feed ingredient processing facility. Since the so-called “trash fish” Now a tough new Running Gear makes the Best Forage Box even better! GRUMELU’S FARM SERVICE Mechanics Grove Quarryville. PA 17566 Ph.(717)786-7318 PIKEVILLE EQUIPMENT INC. RD2 Oley, PA 19547 Ph. (215)987-6277 have to be separated from the primary catch anyway requiring labor and capital and returning nothing for the effort Hassan proposes they be stored in onboard processing tanks. “This works on a simple prin ciple of fermentation,” Hassan says. “The preserving costs are minimal, energy costs are low because the process does not require refrigeration, and the return on investment is, of course, much higher than throwing the fish back into the sea like garbage. ” After 48 to 96 hours of pickling, the fish become a type of “slurry,” high in protein and ready to be dried or mixed with a dry agent such as com mea] to provide a high-quality, inexpensive form of chicken feed, says Hassan. And, he adds, there is no objectionable fish odor. Nationally, “this could be very significant to the fishing industry,” says Tony P. Mazzaccaro, the assistant director for the Marine Advisory Program at the University of Maryland. “Shrimpers, for example, may pull up a ton of what we call ‘un derutilized’ fish for every 100 pounds of shrimp they can market,” he says. Earlier techniques called for expensive and sometimes hazardous chemicals, trained personnel to handle these sub stances and recurring replacement cost for equipment suffering from acid corrosion, but Hassan opted for simplicity. His fermentation technique is similar to that used to manufacture cheese The strength, longevity and resale value of the Badger Northland Forage Box are almost lengendary And now there s yet another reason to buy a Badger Box for your operation Introducing the all new Badger Northland Running Gear Badger gears are available m single or tandem axles with a solid 8 5 or 12 5 ton capacity rating Of course Badger Boxes are still built with channel side stakes, exterior grade plywood interiors and the strongest mechanicals anywhere If you've been holding off on buying a new box, now is the time to send that other box to the forage box graveyard" and talk to your Badger dealer He's the one man who knows how you can get the most from your forage harvest See him today l Talk to the man who knows T ■ CECIL DAIRY SERVICE RDI Rt. 274 Vz Mi. South Rising Sun, MD21911 Ph.(301)658-6923 SHOW-EASE STALL CO. 523 Willow Rd. Lancaster, PA 17601 Ph. (717)299-2536 W&sm ROY 0. CHRISTMAN ROl Hamburg, PA 19526 Ph. (215)562-7218 LLOYD E. KREIDER ROl Cochranvjlle, PA 19330 Ph.(215)932-4700 and yoghurt, requires no trained personnel and demands little capital investment. “Basically, all you need is a tank, the fish, an energy source and a starter organism like lactose to get the process going,” he says. Hassan believes the technique is so simple and inexpensive he can forsee broiler producers setting up' REVOLVING CREDIT LINES spoken here. Joint Land Bank and PCA Services FARM CREDIT SERVICE into chicken feed .shop with fermentation facilities next door to fish- processing plants where they’ll have a steady supply of raw material in the form of processing by-products. And, he adds, this is exactly the kind of small capital investment technology that many developing countries find attractive, an “intermediate” technology that Cost of living, cash flow, un forseen circum stances, one phone call, established farmers, no red tape, no waiting it’s the language of revolving credit lines. And Contact Your Local ★ Seamless Spouting in a variety of colors. ★ Made on the job. ★ New or repaired. ★ Old style half round spouting Quality Workmanship at Low Rates ""fre T' ESTIMATES you’ve got to speak it to succeed. We speak Re volving Credit Lines. We can work with you to set up a credit line so you can have money when you need it fast. We’re can be put to work now as a forerunner to more advanced and expensive forms of technology. The only remaining work in the study, according to Hassan, is a series of lab tests to determine levels of “trash fish” diet needed to achieve the same growth efforts on poultry as more conventional diets. 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