FISHERIES SCIENCE, cilt.73, sa.2, ss.412-420, 2007 (SCI-Expanded)
The effects of the different catching methods (gillnet, longline, harpoon) on sensory, chemical (pH, total volatile base nitrogen, K-value) and microbiological (total viable count [TVC]) changes in pike perch Sander lucioperca stored in ice were investigated. The same soaking time was used for both gillnet and longline fishing. The catching method had considerable influence on the freshness quality of pike perch. The acceptable shelf life was 15 days for pike perch caught by gillnet, and 22 days for longline and harpoon. The initial concentrations of inosine monophosphate (2.4 mu mol/g) in pike perch caught by gillnet were significantly lower (P< 0.05) than longline (4.1 mu mol/g), and especially by harpoon (16.7 mu mol/g). However, the initial K-values for fish caught by harpoon were significantly (P < 0.05) lower (24.36%) than fish caught by longline and gillnet (57.69%, 64.41 %, respectively). The average K Ki, G and H-values at rejection day in terms of sensory assessment were approximately 90, 98, 156 and 40%, respectively, for all catching methods during ice storage. However, TVC reached 7.0 log cfu/g after approximately 11 days of storage for fish caught by gillnet, 19 days for fish caught by longline and 8 days for fish caught by harpoon. The result of this study suggests that the best catching method for preserving the freshness of pike perch is longline, based on the data obtained from the sensory and microbiological analysis.