Seasonal study of the nutritional composition of unexploited and low commercial value fish species from the Portuguese coast.
Ana M DuarteFrederica SilvaSusana MendesFilipa R PintoSónia BarrosoElisabete SilvaAna NevesVera SequeiraMaria Filomena MagalhãesRui RebeloCarlos AssisAna Rita VieiraLeonel Serrano GordoMaria Manuel GilPublished in: Food science & nutrition (2022)
Target species diversification is essential for fisheries sustainability and fish market revitalization. Fish discards are a widely recognized problem resulting from fisheries worldwide, and are of major concern for all sector players, from administrations, to fishermen, and scientists. However, non-target species are seldom studied, and information on nutritional profiles and seasonal changes in nutritional properties is generally lacking. This study assessed the seasonal nutritional composition of two unexploited ( Serranus cabrilla , Capros aper ) and three low commercial value fish species ( Trachurus picturatus , Spondyliosoma cantharus , and Trigla lyra ), captured on the Portuguese coast over 1 year. Significant seasonal variations were observed in the nutritional composition of all the species studied. Moisture and ash contents varied from 70% to 81% and from 5% to 13%, respectively. The maximum fat contents were 5% for C. aper and 4% for T. picturatus , allowing to classify all studied fishes as lean. The highest protein contents were recorded for C. aper (25%) and S. cantharus (20%). The unexploited and low commercial value fish species studied were shown to be good fat and protein sources, comparable to commonly consumed species, such as cod and salmon, having a great potential to become commonly consumed fish in Portugal.