We believe we are creating new opportunities for the fishing industry in the Midwest and potentially in Alaska and other fishing communities. The growth of fish gelatin benefits the Muslim and Jewish communities by providing materials that meet their dietary requirements. It provides the food industry with a product that permits an expansion of kosher and halal production, the latter being important as the American food industry begins to globalize. It also provides a gelatin with more flexibility with respect to melting temperature, permitting more creativity to food product developers.
impact statement issue
Gelatin is the most needed kosher ingredient. The fish industry generally obtains a very low value for their skins and scales, the source of a kosher and halal ingredient.
impact statement response
Our work on optimizing fish gelatin has begun to address a freshwater fish species, Asian carp, which is considered an invasive species. By providing alternative economic opportunities for using this species, we can increase the fishing pressure on Asian carp in the Midwest, which is desired by the local natural resource managers to prevent their spread into the Great Lakes and beyond.
Our recent work has shown that both fish skins and fish scales produce acceptable gelatin in sufficient yield to potentially become economically viable. The project provides a basis for the development of alternative higher-value uses for currently low-value byproducts of this fishery.
impact statement summary
Fish gelatin offers the fishing industry an opportunity to create a high-value, large-quantity raw material that can be used in kosher and halal food products, a niche that includes about 40 percent of the packaged foods in the supermarket.
Other private funding
Turkish government, Chinese government, Herzog Funds
