Fish Products and Byproducts Technology

Unit 9 - Fish meal and fish oil

9.2. Fish meal
The term fish meal means a product obtained by drying and grinding or otherwise treating fish or fish waste to which no other matter has been added. The term white fish meal is reserved for product containing not more than 6 per cent oil and not more than 4 per cent salt, obtained from white fish or white fish waste such as filleting offal.
These are semi legal definitions, and for convenience fish meal can be defined as a solid product obtained by removing most of the water and some or all of the oil from fish or fish waste.
What is the importance of fish meal?
Fish meal is traditionally used as live stock feed supplement, since it contains high quality of animal protein with essential amino acids like lysine and methionine and cysteine which the animal can not synthesized. It is also a good source of B group vitamins like cyanocobalamine (B12), choline, niacin, pantathonic acid and riboflavine. Fish meal is rich in minerals like calcium, phosphorous, copper and iron and is also the source of some trace elements refered as unknown growth factors (UGFs). Some unidentified constituents in fish meal contributing to animal growth is a unique feature of which highlights the importance of fish meal in animal nutrition. Fish meal protein is also having high biological value.