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CSIRO marine scientists have started a nutritional evaluation of fish oils advocated by health authorities in reducing coronary heart disease, stroke and arthritis.
Scientists from the Hobart-based Divisions of Oceanography and Fisheries say the research will ultimately provide a guide for analysing and comparing polyunsaturated fatty acids in Australian fish species,such as omega-3 oil, which the National Health and Medical Research Council recommends should be increased in the diet of Australians.
The research is being jointly funded by the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation (FRDC) and the CSIRO.
The $400,000 two year survey of between 150 and 200 species includes many most popular species found in Australian fish markets and fish shops, and other low-value or non-commercial species either caught in Australian waters or imported from overseas. The work will be carried out by a marine chemist Dr Peter Nichols, Dr Nick Elliott, a fisheries biologist and Dr Patti Virtue, a marine biologist.
At the same time the Division of Fisheries has started researching for a new guide, 'Handbook of Australian Seafood - A Guide to Whole Fish and Fillets', which will allow commercial fishermen, retailers and consumers to learn more about the fish they are catching or buying, and provide a means for identifying each species.
The handbook, also funded by FRDC, will be written by a team led by Dr Peter Last and be the first significant guide of its type for Australia's $1.5 billion fishing industry.
Executive Director of the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation, Mr Peter Dundas-Smith, said today the research also offered other potential benefits for the Australian industry.
"This is all about industry development and increasing the value of the product while fostering a quality ethos that can take pressure off the resource.
"It is unrealistic to expect industry to willingly reduce the quantity of their catch unless we can identify alternate income supplements from the same resource and our belief is that this research will benefit the industry, consumers and the fish stocks," Mr Dundas-Smith said.
Dr Nichols said that while some previous research had identified the nutritional composition of seafood, this new work would build on and greatly expand the knowledge of Australian species.
The study will also look for Australian species with high levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids, possibly leading to the development of extraction and purification technology for omega-3 oil, which is currently imported from overseas.
"These polyunsaturated fatty acids are essential in the diets of humans and animals and this research will tell us which fish species provide most nutrition as a result of oil composition and may assist consumers in their purchase of seafood," Dr Nichols said.
He said an additional benefit may, in future, be scientific research to understand environmental factors that are important in determining the nutritional quality of individual species. Recent research has also identified the value of including omega-3 oils in feed for the expanding mariculture industry.
Dr Nichols and Dr Elliott also work together with the Division of Chemicals and Polymers in identifying waste oils from the Australian fishing industry and the development of value-added marine products.
This in turn has contributed to the establishment of a commercial industry producing bio-degradable natural hand cleaners and degreasers, based on oil from orange roughy waste, as well as shark liver oil products.
Drs Nichols, Elliott and Last will be available for interview. Please contact:
Tel: 002-325222[Level Up] [Doc Top] [Doc End] [Next Item] [Home Page]