We have developed fish ‘kilishi’ – Researcher

What have you achieved so far from the research you are conducting on fish?I must say at least we have gotten to a level that we have been able to develop fish kilishi to a very large extent. I can say we are the pioneer researchers as far as the production of fish kilishi is […]

What have you achieved so far from the research you are conducting on fish?
I must say at least we have gotten to a level that we have been able to develop fish kilishi to a very large extent. I can say we are the pioneer researchers as far as the production of fish kilishi is concerned in this country and I must say that at least we can talk of up to four completed research activities in that area. I must say at this level that that we can produce fish kilishi from fish is already settled. Then the next thing is standardizing the slurry which is the mixture for production. Don’t forget, unlike meat kilishi, fish flesh is flexible. So the quality of the slurry as influenced by the quantity of the various spices and ingredients will, to a very large extent, determine the stability and unlike meat, we have various types of fish, various types of composition, various types of fat level and that also influences the processing methods.
How about the issue of storage or preservation?
At this stage, we are developing and standardizing the slurry for production of standard fish kilishi and we are also looking at the aspect of storage. That is, when you produce the kilishi what is the appropriate medium of storage so as to prolong the shelf life? I must say that at least we have kept that for three months now. We hope to be able to move further and from what we have seen, we can say that the nutrients can actually be stabilized after the first one or two months and then subsequently, it would be influenced by the medium of storage; whether you are storing in plastics or containers or paper envelopes. So, we are looking at standardizing the slurry and at the different types of facilities that could be used for storage. Don’t forget, at the local rural areas, you cannot be talking of freezing, right? But we can be talking of producing and packaging products that the local people can use.
What are you doing in the area of processing?
In the area of processing, we are also working in the area of using solar energy for drying fish and I must say that for that we have tried. We have stored the product for nothing less than three years and when you see it you would think that the fish was produced just yesterday.
Were there previous research work on them?
Yes, it has been a long term project, that is why I said these things are phased and don’t forget fisheries is as diverse as agriculture. We have the engineering sector; we have the marketing, processing, etc. So, you cannot cover all. All you can do is to make sure that you sustain whatever area, moving from one stage to the other. If you look at the water body for instance, how many types of fish have you been seeing around and you have to research on each fish. So they are so diverse. It has been a continuous process since the establishment of this university at least 1981/82 when fisheries programme actually started.
Has any of the research works reached development stage?
I cannot say anyone has reached the development stage; they are still at the level of research but the only thing we have been contributing and don’t forget when you make your research findings available others can pick it and make use of it. You would discover that the issue of development is a recent concept and people are now saying fine, you are conducting research, there should not be a gap between your research findings and development. But we know as far as this area is concerned, a lot of fish farmers, a lot of government establishments have benefitted from our research findings and of course I must say that in the whole of the northern region, this is the first institution with forestry and fisheries programme and I must say that this is the oldest department of forestry and fisheries in the northern part of this country.
I am talking within the context of agriculture and we have been making our research findings available for community services to relevant organizations such the ADP, ministries, private individuals etc and of course, we pass that as part of our community services and we bring them in for training. We have been bringing people from the ministries of agriculture, ADP to our fish farms for training for a very long time, since 1988.
What have been the major challenges?
Well, let me talk on two major challenges – inadequate facilities and funding. Just as I mentioned earlier that our job here is teaching, research, community services, the research component is just one although major because at this level at times we teach by research. It is an important component. With fund you can purchase facilities but over the years, I must say that these things are being addressed and I think that we are improving on the facilities through the commitment of the university management within the past three years; we had a lot of equipment. When I say facilities I mean both feed and laboratory facilities but generally there has been improvement of recent and that has really boosted our capacity to conduct more of these, particularly in the area of.