Fishermen to turn their catch into pickles, wafers

Rajkot: There is nothing fishy about this!
Fishermen families and the Sidi community living in the coastal Veraval town will soon be making fish pickles, ready-to-cook fish soup and curry, fish wafers, frozen fish cutlets and several such delicacies for lovers of seafood which has a large market in many big cities of India.

Cochin-headquartered Central Institute of Fisheries Technology (CIFT) has signed an MoU with the local Kharva fishermen community and Sidis in Veraval for transfer of technology and training them to make value-added fish products. With nearly 1,600km coastline, Gujarat is one of the largest exporters of frozen seafood but there is absolutely no value-addition done to the catch. Gujarat’s fish production is nearly 600 metric tonne per year. The technology transfer aims at preparation of fish-based value-added products through implementation of improved fish post-harvest technologies.

Junagadh Agriculture University’s College of Fisheries in Veraval is already engaged in research on by-products of fish. A Y Desai, college dean, said, “This collaboration is an attempt not only to make value-added products but also to develop entrepreneurship among the fishing community. They can set up a cooperative society and apply for loan. Using the CIFT technology, they can purchase machinery and set up small-scale or cottage industry to make branded products.”

The fishermen can engage in this activity, especially during their slack season in monsoon while the women can go for it all round the year.

Cochin is the hub of marine value-added produce while Gujarat is totally dependent on frozen fish business. At present, these value-added products are sold in some parts of Kerala and malls. While there are various pickles made from fish, the fibre from shark wings is used in making soap powder. Fish powder is also used in some health supplements to increase protein levels.

Jagdish Fofandi, vice president of Sea Food Export Association, said, “The families of fishermen have been provided with the equipment and technology under the central government scheme for betterment of their livelihood so that they can earn during off season too. Fish by-products have a market in cosmopolitan cities only and people here can earn something by selling them in the local market too.”

However, Veraval requires a cooperative structure akin to south Indian states to sell products at the national level or export them.