When to bleed or not to bleed – that is the question – Fishfarmer Magazine

By systemwyvex - 21st August 2014

When to bleed or not to bleed – that is the question19 September, 2012 –

THE amount of time before the fish is bled is more important than the choice of bleeding method, according to Nofima scientists, who have carried out experiments involving bleeding methods and the impact of the time interval from capture to bleeding.

A sensory assessment of whole fish and loins shows that the largest difference occurs between immediate bleeding and when the fish is bled 30 minutes after capture. The analysis showed a pronounced decline in the draining of blood when time elapsed before the fish was bled.

In addition to the sensory assessment, a technical analysis of the fish was performed to confirm what could be seen with the naked eye. The analysis does not provide an exact measurement of the blood quantity, but is ideally suited for ranking various samples according to blood content.

For loins the blood index increased constantly depending on how long it took for the fish, and as such confirmed the assessment of the sensory assessors. Naturally enough, the index for this method peaked for raw material that had not been bled, said Senior Scientist Leif Akse.

The result clearly shows concurrence between the sensory assessment and the instrumental analysis that direct gutting gives poor blood draining and that direct gutting soon after capture results in poorer bleeding than if the fish is bled in water prior to gutting. This results in blood spots in the loins and belly of the fish.

The blood index measurements showed no significant difference between different bleeding methods. This is in accordance with other reports based on bleeding of farmed salmon. However, the blood index was significantly lower for all methods in the project than equivalent measurements of fish that were directly gutted and headed immediately after capture.

With a delay of 30 minutes before bleeding starts, direct gutting of headed fish also results in more blood spots in the loins than if the fish was bled. With longer time intervals before bleeding starts (1 and 3 hours), there was no significant difference in the blood index between the bleeding methods and direct gutting.