Landing and delivery of live haddock - optimal slaughter, cooling and processing with regard to product quality

Summary

When comparing live-delivered haddock with traditionally delivered haddock on the day of slaughter / delivery, there are considerable differences in quality. The live-delivered haddock that were pre-rigor processed have very little gaping, good consistency and little blood in the fillets when compared to the traditionally delivered haddock from another boat. After one day of storage, these differences are a smaller, but live- delivered haddock still has the better quality, indicating that it can withstand storage better. In order to achieve the best quality, it is important that live- delivered haddock is processed as quickly as possible. Some of the most important findings so far in the project are: • It is possible to deliver live haddock straight to fishing plants for controlled slaughter and pre-rigor processing • The biggest challenges with gaping, texture and blood can be minimized with live delivery and pre-rigor filleting • Production yield increases and, at the same time, the share that can be used for high quality products increases significantly compared to traditional production • Quality improvement appears to be maintained during storage as a fillet