ABSTRACT
In fish the digestive tract is the richest source of hydrolytic enzymes. Crude or partly purified preparations of such enzymes are utilized as biotechnological tools in the production of fishery products such as caviar, descaled skin-on fil lets, and in the maturation of various fish delicacy products. These and many other applications will be discussed in this chapter, but initially two important examples of the utilization of autolytic digestion in product manufacturing will be described. These are fish sauce and fish silage production, in which hydrolytic enzymes from the fish itself play a key role in the solubilization and degradation of the tissue proteins.
