ABSTRACT
Consumption of seafood is not novel and it has been consumed by human beings for thousands of years. Seafood represents a diverse group of marine fi sh, crustaceans, mollusks, algae, seaweed and marine microorganisms (Rasika et al. 2013). Large amounts of underutilized by-products are generated globally from the sea food processing industry every year (Senevirathne and Kim 2012). The fi sh processing industry produces more than 60% by-products as waste, which includes skin, head, viscera, trimmings, liver, frames, bones, and roes (Chalamaiah et al. 2012). Important ingredients and food products can be obtained from marine derived byproducts, such as fi sh oil, antifreeze compounds, collagen and gelatin, carotenoids, enzymes, chitin and chitosan, nutraceutical compounds, fi sh protein hydrolysate, fi sh sauce and surimi (Fig. 1). These ingredients, extracted from seafood processing by-products, exhibit potential nutritional and dietary uses other than their various applications in many industries including pharmaceutical, agricultural and cosmetic industries. Therefore, seafood processing by-products can be considered as valuable natural resources, with many applications and various functionalities. Most of these compounds are not found in terrestrial animals or the quality may
be superior compared to their terrestrial counterparts. Proper utilization of by-products obtained from seafood processing industries is also important for economical as well as ecological reasons in the worldwide context of marine resource depletion (Cudennec et al. 2012).
