Fish and fish products

Abstract

Finfish and shellfish are second only to meat and poultry as staple animal protein foods for most of the world. The range of fish products is very large and includes foods prepared by a broad spectrum of both traditional and modern food technology methods. In some countries, fish are a major source of protein. In the last two decades, there has been an extensive expansion in finfish- and shellfish-production primarily due to developments in aquaculture. The catches of wild fish have stagnated at ~90 million metric tones since 1990, whereas aquaculture production has increased to ~30 million metric tones in year 2000 (Figure 3.1; FAO, 1998). Today 20–30% of fish and shellfish used for human consumption are reared in aquaculture.