Processing of fish sidestreams into valuable substances

The project is a circular economy project promoting the green transition, where a new local circular economy value chain is developed for the processing of fish side streams. The project supports Kainuu's top branch of intelligent specialization, bioeconomy, in terms of the biocircular economy. The project promotes the renewal of the business life in Kainuu and the rest of northern Finland by producing experience-based know-how and evaluations of new processing and processing possibilities for side-stream material in the case of fish side-streams. The project develops applied research of high competence in Kainuu and North Ostrobothnia with regard to the developing circular economy.

Fishery entrepreneurs have met with new challenges when handling fish and its side-streams (fillet and guts). The new challenges have arisen from the fact that the fur yards are able to receive less and less fish side streams, because the number of fur yards is drastically decreasing. At the same time, regulations regarding the handling of fish side streams have been tightened. Fish side streams threaten to become a cost burden for fish processing companies. This is a special challenge for Kainuu, because the biogas plants and fur farms that receive fish side streams are practically outside of Kainuu. This project responds to the challenge described above in Kainuu by developing a process chain in which new, innovative uses are developed for fish side streams and fish side streams are transformed from a cost burden into value-added products. This happens, for example, by capturing value components in different process steps. Fish by-streams are rich in various valuable substances, such as fat (omega 3 fatty acids), protein, bioactive peptides and enzymes, which have a lot of commercial potential.

In the project, applied research and development work is connected to business life. In the preparation of the project, discussions have been held with Kainuu fishing companies. The project is part of a set of projects involving Kajaani University of Applied Sciences, Natural Resources Center and University of Oulu (Kajaani Measurement Technology Unit, and Environmental and Chemical Engineering Unit). In the project, the University of Oulu specializes in separating fat and studying its quality from fish side streams. The project promotes and pilots the introduction of new technologies in the treatment of fish side streams, such as supercritical carbon dioxide extraction. After separating the fat, Kajaani University of Applied Sciences receives the raw material processed by the University of Oulu, for which it develops a further utilization target as feed for larvae. Natural Resources Center also receives material processed by the University of Oulu for protein research. A technical-economic report is made for the entire process. A public report will be published on the results.