Too much sardine may be going down the waste chute and fisheries consultant Ulf Groenqvist, from the Island of Öland in Sweden, working for AB Seac, says the reason may be that there is no decent machine available to pre-sort the fish before the processing machines get hold of it.
After more than 20 years in the fish-processing machine business I still find there are two main problems when we look around the world on how to get the most efficient production of sardines -- either for fillets or for canning, he writes.
It starts with how the catch is taken and then handling, from first storage on board, landing at the quay and onward transport to the factory. The second problem is sorting, grading and classification before the different machines get to work.
There is an array of machines from different manufacturers tackling nobbing which is the removal of heads, tails and viscera of sardines and sardine-like fish.
Although most brands are similar in the way they operate, all of them are dependent on the quality of fish landed and the sorting process. The aim should be: highest yield means more profit. The divide comes between vacuum and mechanical gutting operations, the vacuum being the latest design, but both have their own advantages.
Mechanicals are as near as you can get to hand gutting. They tend to be more reliable for softer fish such as blue-whiting and saury where the belly is so soft that, during vacuum operation, it cracks and then it is very difficult to get cleaned bellies. Vaccum is also better for softer, defrosted fish
The biggest advantages of vacuum are that you need less water and the entrails go into a vacuum tank not the offal chute. But the cost of vacuum equipment is much higher. Both types are usually set for one size. The further away from that parameter the more waste and rejections.
AB Seac has recently installed six mechanical nobbing machines in the Far East, working at 325 fish/minute, equivalent to the work of 15-16 manual gutters, plus increased hygiene and with a yield on sardines of 65---72 % and small mackerel 56---60 %
Machinery wish list
If there were an efficient sorting/grading machine on the market, which could pre-sort a minimum of 10 tonnes per hour into three or four grades, the efficiency and yield would be higher and each cannery would earn more money.
So far I've not seen such a 0reliable sorting machine. But if there is an engineer in a company out there with one, then I hope they will tell us so we can pass the news to customers around the world who are ready and willing to pay for it if they are guaranteed it works.
