FISH PROCESSING PLANT

INTRODUCTION

 The term fish processing refers to the processes associated with fish and
fish products between the time fish are caught or harvested, and the time
the final product is delivered to the customer.
 Fish is a highly perishable food which needs proper handling and
preservation if it is to have a long shelf life and retain a desirable quality
and nutritional value.
 A central concern of fish processing is to prevent fish from deteriorating,
and this remains an underlying concern during other processing
operations.
 Fish processing can be subdivided into fish handling, which is the
preliminary processing of raw fish, and the manufacture of fish products.
 FISH PROCESSING PLANT IS MAINLY
COMPOSED OF FOLLOWING SECTIONS:
 Stunning section
 Grading section
 Slime removal section
 Descaling section
 Washing section
 Deheading section
 Gutting section
 Fin cutting section
 Filleting section
 Deskinning section
 Pin bone remover section
 Shrimp peeling section
 Freezing section
 STUNNING OF FISH-
 In many freshwater species the method of stunning is critical
for final product quality because prolonged agony of fish
causes production of undesired substances in the tissue.
Oxygen deficiency in blood and muscle tissue results in
accumulation of lactic acid and other reduced products of
catabolic processes and consequently in a paralysis of the
neural system. Red spots appear on the surface of the skin
and in the muscle tissue near the backbone; these reduce
quality.
 Stunning of freshly caught fish or fish delivered live to a
processing plant is best done with an electric current. First,
the fish are placed in a tank of water and an electric current is
then passed through the water to stun or kill the fish. Live fish
are also slaughtered by cutting the aorta and bleeding to
death when technological or ritual reasons require the
removal of blood from the tissue before further processing.
 In some plants, water in the fish tanks is saturated with
carbon dioxide which renders the animals unconscious or
dead.
 GRADING MACHINE-
 The processing sequence starts from grading the fish by
species and size. Size grading is very important for fish
processing as well as marketing. This machine is mostly
used for grading of pelagic fishes. Inclined conical
slideways are formed by rotating rollers of 3m or 4m in
length via a chute, these slideways are continuously fed
with fish which glide downward to their thickness and size
to separate conveyor belts or containers. Grading is
possible within 4-5 size ranges. Two smooth rotating rollers
are installed above the surface of the conveyor belt in
order to prevent the fish from accumulating or lying in a
transverse position, so that all fish are guided in
longitudinal direction through the grading system.
 CAPACITY- 35-50 tons/hour
 SLIME REMOVAL MACHINE-
 Slime accumulating on the skin surface of dying fish is a
protection mechanism against harmful conditions. In some
freshwater species slime constitute 2-3% of body weight.
Slime creates a perfect environment for micro-organism
growth and should be removed by thorough washing. Even
small amounts of slime, which frequently remain after
manual cleaning; result in visible yellowish-brown spots.
 Drum-washing with a horizontal rotation axis does not
remove slime from some fish, Eg. Eel. Eel are best washed
in machines which originally serve as scalers. The device is
loaded with 30 kg of fish and several kg of salt, and after
about 2-3 minutes the slime is completely removed from
the fish skin. This procedure is more efficient than manual
washing.
 Slime can be removed from fish by soaking fish in a 2%
solution of baking soda and then washing in a cylindrical
rotating washer.
 DESCALING MACHINE-
 Desclaing of fish is important in order to produce good
quality food. Manual descaling requires almost 50% of the
total time necessary to produce headed and gutted fish
without fins.
 One easy method includes blanching of fish for 3-6 seconds
in boiling water and then scaling by hand with motions
perpendicular to the long body axis.
 Use of electrical hand-held scalers reduces labour intensity
and assures complete elimination of scales.
 Another method used is semi-automated device; in this, fish
is manually passed over the rough surface rotating drums
which have contoured slits of 3-4 mm depth. The capacity of
semi-automated device is about 10-20 fishes/ minute.
 In large processing plants special descaling machine is used.
The descaling machine is equipped with five descaling
spindles, three above and two below the fish, with different
geometries, to descale rounded fish like salmon and similar
species cleanly and efficiently.
 CAPACITY- 25-50 fishes/min
 FISH WASHER MACHINE-
 Washing is intended primarily to clean the fish and to remove
accumulated bacteria. The effectiveness of the washing procedure
depends on; inter alia, the kinetic energy of water stream, ratio of fish
volume to water volume (1:2) and water quality. Machine equipped with
mechanized scrubbing device can remove 90% of initial bacteria. Potable
water is used for washing in processing plant.
 Type of machines- Vertical drum, Horizontal drum and Combination
washer- conveyor belt.
 The operation cycle for these machine is 1-2 minutes. The vertical drum
washer is frequently used because of its conveniently small size. The
most common is Horizontal tumbler washer. A rotating perforated drum
constitutes the main component of this device; the drum is usually 2-4 m
long, with round holes 10 mm in diameter. Inside the drum there are
metal or rubber bars which facilitate tumbling and mixing of fish. Rotation
of the drum, its tilted axis and the arrangement of internal bars result in a
movement of fish towards the outlet of the device. Washing is continuous
and is accomplished by spraying pressurized water through the
perforated pipe installed inside the drum. Dirty water collects in the
waste basins.
 A combination washer-conveyor is less popular but can serve to separate
fish from ice: ice, having lower density than water, floats to the water
surface from where it is removed, while fish falls onto the meshed
conveyor and leaves the washing basin.

DEHEADING MACHINE-
This machine is used to cut the head portion of fish as it is an
inedible part. An average deheading device can usually be used to
process fish for which a difference between minimum and maximum
length does not exceed 30-40 cm. The cutting elements used in the
deheading machines are either disc, contoured, cylindrical knives,
band saws or guillotine cutters. A machine operator adjusts the
position of the cutting element according to the fish size. The one
more advantage of this machine is; it also cuts the tail portion while
cutting head.
 The procedure attend by the machine-
 Infeed chamber - The fish is inserted into the input carriage by the
operator securing that the fish is placed in right position.
 Deheading- During 90⁰ rotation, the neck of fish is cut and
immediately after deheaded by a guillotine knife.
 Tailcutting- After the next rotation, the fish is pulled back until a
sensor detects the tail. During the next rotation a round knife is
cutting off the tail.
 Outfeed chamber- The headless and tail less fish is automatically
inserted into the filleting machine and the carriage returns empty to
begin the next cycle.
 CAPACITY- 20-40 fish/ min
 DEHEADING
FISH INFEED

TAILCUTTING FISH OUTFEED

 GUTTING MACHINE-
 The purpose of gutting is to remove those fish body parts most likely to reduce
product quality, as well as to remove gonads and sometimes the swim bladder.
Gutting consists of cutting down the belly, removal of internal organs and cleaning
the body cavity of the peritoneum, kidney tissue and blood. Fish is cut
longitudinally up to the anal opening (without damaging the gall bladder).
 This machine is consist of rotating rollers, brush, knives, conveyor belt and water
sprays.
 Inlet chamber- The fish is placed in the inlet chamber, belly up tail first, with the
head against one of the catches on conveyor chain. From here the fish is led into
gutting section.
 Cutting of belly- The sharp knives make longitudinal cut on the belly.
 Vacuume section- The water is sprayed over the cut belly portion and vacuume
is created. The washing and rinsing of body cavity is done with rotation brush.
 Outfeed chamber- After this, the degutted and clean fish is collected at outfeed
chamber.
 It is consist of three main sections-
 Fish entry section- The conveyor chain is furnished with catches. A self
adjusting system of guide plates positions the fish correctly.
 Gutting section- It consists of rotating brush, cutting knives of stainless steel
and rotating drums. These are controlled by cam. The water system using fresh or
sea water ensure efficient cleaning and washing of the fish during the gutting
machine.
 Driving section- with electric or hydraulic motor, V-belt drive, reduction gear for
knife and brush.
 CAPACITY- 35-50 fish/min
 FIN CUTTING MACHINE-

 Manually cutting away the fins with either a knife, special

mechanized scissors or rotating disc knives, is a labour-
intensive and strenuous operation when handling larger
fish. This operation is most frequently done after gutting
during the production of deheaded whole fish and fish
steaks. An automated device consisting of the rotating disc
knives with a slit cutting edge, powered by electric motor,
facilitates and speeds up the fin removal procedure. The
knife slot has a horizontal opening through which the
dorsal and ventral fins are passed manually and cut out.

 FILLETING MACHINE-
 A fillet which is a piece of meat consisting of the dorsal and
abdominal muscles has been a most sought-after fish product in the
retail market. Filleting efficiency depends upon fish species, its sex,
size and nutritional condition. The multi functional Filleting machine is
used to fillet the fish flesh. It is consist of two circular knives,
conveyor drive.
 The process involved-
 The fish is placed on the saddle is guided by the feed table and by
spring loaded flaps to its correct position for the filleting tools. Two
pairs of circular knives cut on either side of main bone beginning at
the top and bottom of tail root.
 The circular knives are under axial spring pressure and ride directly
on the bones guided by their varying thickness. This means that the
fish itself controls the filleting cuts with the least possible loss of fish
meat.
 The fish is then transported through the scraping knives which scrape
along the ribs and simultaneously remove the black skin from the
belly. After passing the scraping tools, the fillets are finally separated
from the main bone by two circular knives which are spring loaded
thus adapting themselves to the thickness of vertebrae.
 CAPACITY- 30-40 fishes/min.
 SKINNING MACHINE-

 The skinning machine is used to peel off the skin of whole fishes or fillet. The
simplest and most inexpensive method of skinning is manual practice. The skinning
machine is mainly consist of oscillating knife, compression spring, rotating drum,
conveyor belt and refrigerant. Water is not needed to operate this machine. This
machine can be used for skinning of freshwater as well as marine fish species,
including larger size. Its use is recommended for small processing plants, fish
markets, fish mongers, supermarkets, restaurants and catering sectors.
 PROCEDURE FLOW OF SKINNING MACHINE-
 The fillets are transferred automatically from filleting machine to the conveyor belt.
 The belt passes under a rotating refrigerated drum where the skin of fillet freezes to
the drum.
 A rotating drum is filled with cooling liquid i.e refrigerant R507. The freezing is very
superficial and not deeper than 1/10 mm.
 A rotating bandknife cuts the fillet from the skin and skin is scraped off the drum.
 The thickness of cut or depth of skinning is infinitely adjustable between 0-12 mm.
 The peeled off fillet is then collected at the outfeed chamber.
 CAPACITY- 300 fillet/min
 PIN BONE REMOVER MACHINE-
 This equipment is used to separate the bone (vertebral column)
from the fillet. So that only meat or flesh part can be obtained.
It is consist of conveyor belt, roller guide system, and presser.
 Procedure flow-
 Raiser- Two pieces of raising tooth rollers for smoked and fresh
fillets 24 hrs after incapacitating the fish. The tooth raise the pin
bones in the fillets, especially for pin bones below flesh surface.
 Active tail system- This system is designed to raise pin bone
head, it will activate after pin bone removal process has been
completed. This ensures that the tail piece does not get caught
in pin bone roller.
 In & out feed conveyor- The sextant lane pin bone system
can be delivered with an automatic In & Out feed conveyor for
splitting up the fillets from to lanes to six lanes.
 Infeed roller guide system- This guide is designed for
running of trout on the pin bone remover.
 CAPACITY- 40-50 fillets/ min

 SHRIMP PEELING MACHINE-
 In shrimp processing plant, shrimp peeling machine is of very
important, to separate its exoskeleton. It is consist of
conveyor belt, automatic sorter system, rotating rollers etc.
 Procedure flow-
› Grading: The shrimps are placed on grading machine. A
combination of conveyor belt and automated sorter is used to
separate them as per their size. The thinner one fall off the belt
while thick ones are retained on it until the end of line.
› Feeding: Shrimps of equal size are fed in machine. Through
conveyor belt it is passed to peeling machine.
› Peeling: Peelers are automatic, bulk-fed machines designed
specifically to automatically peel raw, shell-on shrimp. The peeling
process is designed to preserve the quality, product texture, and
pigmentation of the shrimp.
› Cleaning and Separating: The cleaning and separating process
detaches the remaining shell and separates the waste material
from the edible shrimp meat.
› Inspecting: The system provides a station for physical inspection
before grading the final product.

 HORIZONTAL PLATE FREEZER-
 The horizontal plate freezer (HPF) is used for freezing regular shaped packs of fish.
The product is frozen in cartons, freezing frames or lidded trays which make direct
contact with the plates through which the refrigerant is circulated. The capacity of
HPF unit depends on the product thickness, plate size and the number of stations.
The use of freezer trays and freezer frames depends on the type of product to be
frozen. Cartons, other container and blocks of fish with only nominal dimensions
are normally frozen in trays.
 Refrigeration systems used with HPF are:
 Pump circulation system with a primary refrigerant
 Pump circulation system with a secondary refrigerant
 Gravity feed flooded system
 Direct expansion system.
 FEATURES-
 Small space and easy to install and operate, PU foamed and stainless steel cabinet
which is easy to clean.
 The accessories is made of stainless steel which has high antisepsis capacity
hydraulic system and aluminium-alloy plates with double contact freezing which
has a high freezing capacity.
 Aluminium plates are made of special extrusion aluminium-magnesium alloy, which
has several characteristic such as- light weight, smooth finishing, reasonable
structure, good conductivity, corrosion resistance strong.
 Insulated cabinet is high strength frame structure which filled with PU foamed to
ensure non-deformation under high pressure. Both inside and outside frame are
made of stainless steel which is of thickness 1mm.
 TECHNICAL TERMS-
 Intake temperature- 15° C
 Out-take temperature- ≤ -18° C
 Ambient temperature- ≤ 40° C
 Condensing temperature- between 35°C- 40° C
 Evaporating temperature- (- 35° C)
 Tray size- a. FISH- 600*400*80 mm
 b. SHRIMP- 300*200*60 mm
 Capacity- a. FISH- 15kg/tray
 b. SHRIMP- 2kg/tray
 Cooling system- a. water cooling
 b. evaporative cooling.
 Maximum plate opening- 25mm
 No. of stations- 20
 Depth of tray frame- 50-75 mm
 Refrigerant-
 Ammonia- R717
 Dichlorodifluoromethane- R12
 Chlorodifluoromethane- R22
 Time required- a. FISH- 6-7 h/shift
 b. SHRIMP- 3-5 h/shift.
CONTACT PLATE FREEZER (HORIZONTAL)
PARTS OF HPF