Why are we so squeamish about eating hagfish?

Why are we so squeamish about eating hagfish? Sadie Harley Scientific Editor Andrew Zinin Chief Editor When fishers are out working their boats, they are typically targeting a specific type of fish. However, other species often end up in their nets or trawls as well. This is known as "bycatch"—seafood for which the fishers receive no payment. Although it is illegal to discard bycatch back into the sea, it still happens. "Fishers often find themselves caught between the need to operate sustainably and the desire for economic gain. Many fishing vessels have limited space on board, as well as limited resources to handle bycatch in the best possible way," says Line Skontorp Meidell. Meidell is a researcher at SINTEF Ocean. She has participated in the Bifangst (By-catch) project, which has explored ways to utilize bycatch more sustainably. Also a matter of food security In a world that is more unstable than it has been for a long time, food security and self-sufficiency are high on the agenda. Making use of bycatch could amount to around 8 million meals every year, or about 1.4 meals per inhabitant in Norway. Researchers are currently working to increase children's understanding of bycatch through the Luring dissemination project. To this end, they participated in an "Ocean Day" (Havdagen), hosted by the Trondheim Science Center. Many adults and children were surprised by the high bycatch numbers—a fact they learned while peering into boxes containing bycatch that one of the city's local fishers provided. On display were rabbitfish (chimera), spiny dogfish and long rough dab—all of which many folks consider quite tasty. While most people agreed that we shouldn't be discarding so much fish, they hesitated when asked if they would personally eat the specific types of fish they were looking at. What many people don't realize is that fish filets from the vast majority of species look a lot alike. "When we showed them pictures of filets from long rough dab and hagfish, several people changed their minds and said they would actually be willing to eat those specific species," says Meidell. Kaja Vilhelmsen, 9, was attending Ocean Day with her family. She was stroking a long spiny dogfish that she thought looked "pretty cool." But only when she sees the filets does she say that she would dare eat it. "I don't really feel like eating the fish when I see it just lying there, but if it's part of dinner, that's fine. Well, as long as there's something else to go with it," says Kaja. This isn't just about what the fishers can do with the bycatch fish. Shoppers also need to be more adventurous at the fish counter. "If we start eating bycatch, more of what's currently thrown overboard could be put to good use. And the residual raw materials from these same fish could also be utilized for animal feed, cosmetics and nutritional products," says Meidell. A tasty 'dinosaur' of a fish One type of bycatch that fishers are less fond of is the hagfish. It resembles an ordinary eel, but it is actually one of the oldest types of fish on Earth—having inhabited the oceans long before the time of the dinosaurs. They produce slime as a defense mechanism against other fish; in fact, they can turn the volume of water found in 20 milk cartons into slime in just a few seconds. Is your mouth watering yet? Perhaps not—but the hagfish got a high score when researchers sampled the fish in filet form earlier this year. In the By-catch project, SINTEF researchers investigated how to make greater use of the hagfish as a food resource. Sixteen participants were served the Asian-inspired dish and asked to evaluate its taste, texture, smell and overall appeal. The results showed a surprisingly positive response. On average, the tasters gave the hagfish 4 out of 5 points for the overall experience. Participants described the fish as neutral in both taste and smell, and felt it worked well as an ingredient in a dish. The researchers also noted that the hagfish differed from other edible fish in that it produced very little odor during preparation. They described the texture as unusual and quite chewy. Perhaps unfamiliar species like the hagfish require a fresh approach in the kitchen to become an attractive option for the Norwegian dinner table. The filet accounts for about 45% of the hagfish's total weight. The remaining 55% consists of skin, internal organs and the head. These parts can be used for other purposes. The researchers discovered that hagfish skin is well suited for extracting collagen—a valuable ingredient used in everything from cosmetics to medical products. "Even the slime contains proteins that might have interesting applications, but we'll need to do more research on that," Meidell says. Key concepts commercial fishery resourcesProvided by Norwegian University of Science and Technology