Fish is a vital source of protein in Bangladesh, but the current post-harvest handling practices are inadequate, leading to significant losses in quality and waste. Key issues include improper handling, lack of technical knowledge, and unsanitary conditions which exacerbate spoilage. To improve the fish processing sector, it is essential to provide training, enhance public awareness on sanitation, and implement effective handling and quality management practices.

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POST HARVEST HANDLING OF FISH
INTRODUCTION
Fisheries play a significant role in Bangladesh providing 63% of the animal protein supply and
10% direct or indirect employment for 150 million people, and are the second highest export
earning source of the country. The fish processing sector has not achieved expected export
returns with respect to the growth rate of aquaculture and overall fish production. Lack of
technical production knowledge on high quality and safe products prevents proper utilization of
the available carp and catfish from aquaculture.To improve fish processing in Bangladesh, the
limitations of current practices were improper handling, long & complicated fish supply chains,
shortage of technical skills, and weak safety and quality management systems etc.
Fish handling is the management of quality control of newly catch fish to deliver the catch in a
processing plant or directly to consumer level. Fish handling plays a vital role in fish processing
industry. Every year we lost about 10% of world fish catch due to improper handling, processing
and preservation lacking. Good fish handling can be very effective to utilize the whole worlds
fish catch.
Main benefits of Good handling are stated below:
Benefits to Fisherman Benefits to Processor
1. Increases landed weight
2. Premium price
3. Reasonable pay back
4. Increased efficiency
1. Faster offloading
2. Long shelf life
3. Higher output
4. Increased yields
DESCRIPTION
Present Status of Fish Handling in Bangladesh
Present condition of fish handling in Bangladesh is not in the satisfactory level. There are a lots
of lacking in fish handling practices. Usually these types of condition are due to lack of expert
manpower, lack of proper knowledge on sanitation, lack of training facilities. Actually people
neglect fish as a food item and about its importance. Sometime people throw fishes after
catching or during loading in a vehicle. People often sat on the fishes during transporting, it is a

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bad practice, it causes damages of fish muscle and it promotes spoilage. Sometime fishes are
directly exposed to sunlight which also accelerates spoilage. Unhygienic condition is also
available in our country. Sometime due to adequate sorting some bad quality fishes are also
kept in the same place which accelerates the possibility of bacterial contamination. We are not
so much concerned about the water which is used during the preparation of ice. Contaminated
ice is risky for good fish handling. People usually don’t maintain the proper ice and fish ratio,
use of less ice is also a reason to accelerate spoilage. There is also shortage of packaging
knowledge also in our country.
Good Handling practices
Good handling of fish brings about tremendous benefits to fishermen, processors and retailers
because consumers are always demanding and willing to pay for premium quality fish.
General Considerations of Good Handling
I. Avoid conditions which might accelerate spoilage.
II. We have to take proper steps to prevent spoilage.
III. Avoid contamination of fish by spoilage agents.
IV. Maintenance of time at every stage of handling.
Simply for good handling we also do something like, keep the fish cool, undamaged and clean,
we have to control the processing time also to ensure good handling practice.
Condition of fish in different gears
Before handling we have to gather enough information about the fishing gears which are used
to catch the fish. Actually handling procedure depends greatly on the types of gears are used
during catching the fish. Fish in “Current jal”, “Vashajal” (drift gill net) and other gill nets spoil
rapidly and fish in hand line, hook & line and long line are excited as they struggle to escape and
these fishes are deteriorates rapidly than other fishes. So, we have to ensure rapid icing during
this type of fishes.
Handling during hauling
Use appropriate gear for the fish. If possible haul more frequently, not after longer time. Since
hauling of MSBN and ESBN is not possible until the directionof water flow is changed (effect of
high and low tide: 2 high tides and 2 low tides in 24 hrs.), these fish need special care and
handling soon after hauling. In such case, in order to separate old fish from newly entered one,
catch of the cod end can be divided by taking out fish differently as top layer, middle layer and

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bottom layer. Take less weight per tow. In case of the operation of pocket mounted beach
seine, kumjal, etc. or trawl net, be careful of not to over fill the pocket. Remove fish from the
pocket as quickly as possible.
Handling on the deck
Fish is food, so handle it as food. Use equipment and tools made of easily cleanable materials:
eg. metal or plastic. Do not use container made of bamboo or wood. These can harbour
bacteria. Sort and grade fish as quickly as possible – on the basis of species, size and physical
conditions. Dress fish as required (scaling, fining, etc.). Bleed as required for big fish: keep water
flow over the fish to accelerate bleeding. Remove gill and gut of big fish. Wash and clean deck,
fish hold, container, bucket, cutting utensils, ice crusher, ice chamber, etc. with (50-100 ppm)
chlorinated water. Wash fish thoroughly with chlorinated sea water (5-10 ppm).Use hose pipe
for effective washing. Ice the fish quickly to reduce the
temperature (1 to 2oC). Avoid bulk icing in fish hold, rather use plastic box, drum or small
container in fish hold for icing. Ice old and new fish, spoiled or distorted one and fresh fish and
different species of fish in separate containers. Use a fish: ice ratio of 1 : 2 in summer or 1 : 1 in
December, January and February. Monitor temperature change always with a thermometer.
Check temperature every night before going to bed and take corrective action to maintain
temperature around 1 to 2°C.
On board fishing vessel sanitation
Wooden surface absorbs water and becomes full of bacteria. Fresh fish are contaminated when
contact is made with these surfaces. Cover the surfaces of the fish hold or deck with aluminium
sheet. Use corrugated aluminium pen boards, plastic or steel drum, etc. These are light,
durable, occupy small area and can be cleaned easily.Inspect the fish hold/ice chamber for
cleanliness and remove leftover dirty ice before taking on next trip’s ice.Make certain that all
equipment used to handle fish (gutting knives, sorting checkers, washing boxes, tanks) are
rinsed and properly cleaned before use.While fishing, make certain that the deck is thoroughly
washed between tows. Wash all gutting utensils regularly.Use a flushing rinse spray if a
bleeding tank is used. Acquire good knowledge on contamination and sanitation. Wash
everything with clean/chlorinated water. Keep small fish apart from the big fish. Keep separate
catch caught different times separately. Prepare ice from clean water.
Handling during Landing and Unloading
Handle fish very carefully while unloading so that no injury occurs. Do not stand on fish in the
fish hold while unloading. Do not throw fish from the fishing boat to the basket. Keep fish in

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clean elevated place and container after unloading. Ice fish immediately if further icing is
required.
Figure:Handling during Landing and Unloading
COMMENTS
Currently we are very poor in fish handling. Actually these types of condition are due to lack of
expert manpower, lack of proper knowledge on sanitation, lack of training facilities. Actually
people neglect fish as a food item and about its importance. There is a proverb, a Famous
saying in fish culture is,' Fish are not potatoes’, they need tender care and love to remain in a
good quality. We should provide good sanitation knowledge, training on good handling to
overcome these problems. We have to create awareness among the workers and processors to
maintain a good fish handling practice. It requires some time to eradicate these problem.
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IMPROVEMENTS
The current fish supply chain of fish harvesting from different aquaculture and natural
resources to the processing factory or to the consumer is quite long involving many middlemen
resulting in excessive handling stress and loss of fish freshness and quality. For export purposes,
some selected fish suppliers (large or mid level aquaculture farms, open-water fishermen,
depot owners and marine fishing trawler crews) could be trained and collect fish raw materials
for a better price based on a quality index. Subsequently, other suppliers would be aware and
interested to be trained in good handling practices and keeping quality of harvested fish as in
the shrimp sector. We should manage proper training for the peoples who are involving in this
sector. Create public awareness on sanitation and personal hygienation is also important to
prevent contamination. For concerned government officials (who will acts as trainers), all
concerned stake holders in the supply chain and processing factory personnel (who will receive
the fish), development of training manuals should be initiated. Some research initiatives need
to be taken for optimising the technical issues relevant to each step of harvesting, handling,

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preservation and transport subjected to different habitat, time, temperature and other
correlated factors applicable to carp, catfish or other important fish species.
CONCLUSION
Post harvest handling of fish is very important in our country because good quality of fish
depends on proper handling of fish. The knowledge about post-harvest handling helps us to
know about the possible best handling, processing and quality management practices for the
production of high quality fresh fish products from carp and catfish in Bangladesh. The
environmental conditions, species, temperature and other factors are different in a tropical
country like Bangladesh than in Iceland. Effective utilization of suitable handling and processing
methods and quality management systems for different fish species could add new advantages to
the product quality of the carp and catfish processing industries of Bangladesh.

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REFERENCES
Participatory Training of Trainers: A NEW APPROACH APPLIED IN FISH PROCESSING,
2007, A K M Nowsad Alam
Pre- and post-harvest handling and processing procedures for the production of safe and high
quality fresh fisheries products in Bangladesh, Hasan Ahmmed, Department of Fisheries