Seasonal study of the nutritional composition of unexploited and low commercial value fish species from the Portuguese coast

Target species diversification is essential for fisheries sustainability and fish market revitalization. Fish discards are a widely recognized problem resulting from fisheries worldwide, and are of major concern for all sector players, from administrations, to fishermen, and scientists. However, non-target species are seldom studied, and information on nutritional profiles and seasonal changes in nutritional properties is generally lacking. This study assessed the seasonal nutritional composition of two unexploited (Serranus cabrilla, Capros aper) and three low commercial value fish species (Trachurus picturatus, Spondyliosoma cantharus, and Trigla lyra), captured on the Portuguese coast over 1 year. Significant seasonal variations were observed in the nutritional composition of all the species studied. Moisture and ash contents varied from 70% to 81% and from 5% to 13%, respectively. The maximum fat contents were 5% for C. aper and 4% for T. picturatus, allowing to classify all studied fishes as lean. The highest protein contents were recorded for C. aper (25%) and S. cantharus (20%). The unexploited and low commercial value fish species studied were shown to be good fat and protein sources, comparable to commonly consumed species, such as cod and salmon, having a great potential to become commonly consumed fish in Portugal.

Description

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS : Authors are very grateful to FCT (Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia) for the financial support attributed to A.R.V and V.S. through CEECIND/01528/2017 and CEECIND/02705/2017, respectively, and of this work through the project UID/MAR/04292/2020, attributed to MARE – Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre, Polytechnic of Leiria. This work was also partially funded by the Integrated Programme of SR&TD “SmartBioR” (reference Centro-01-0145-FEDER-000018) cofunded by Centro 2020 program, Portugal2020, European Union, through the European Regional Development Fund and by project VALOREJET (16–01-03-FMP-0003), Operational Program Mar 2020, Portugal, through the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund.

Keywords

Fish valorization Nutritional composition Seasonal variation Sustainability Unexploited species

URI

http://hdl.handle.net/10400.8/7504

Citation

Ana M. Duarte; Frederica Silva; Susana Mendes; Filipa R. Rato; Sónia Barroso; Elisabete Silva; Ana Neves; Vera Sequeira; Maria Filomena Magalhães; Rui Rebelo; Carlos Assis; Ana Rita Vieira; Leonel Serrano Gordo; Maria Manuel Gil Seasonal study of the nutritional composition of unexploited and low commercial value fish species from the Portuguese coast. Food Science & Nutrition 2022. https:// doi.org/10.1002/fsn3.2937