Aquaculture of soft-boned fish and their sensory evaluation

Abstract

　Aquaculture of soft-boned fish may be beneficial if such fish are more palatable than ordinary fish. To verify this, a series of experiments was conducted. Juvenile common carp Cyprinus carpio and juvenile honmoroko Gnathopogon caerulescens were fed either low-phosphorus (P) feed or normal-P feed for 1 month. These two groups of fish were compared based on chemical analysis and sensory evaluation (tasting lightly broiled whole fish). The low-P carp (mean body weight 8.7 g) had lower ash, calcium, and P content in bones and scales (p < 0.01), and higher body fat content and condition factor (p < 0.01) compared with normal-P fish (mean body weight 8.0 g). The low-P carp also had softer bones (p < 0.01) by organoleptic evaluation compared with normal-P carp. In honmoroko, however, no such differences were found between low-P and normal-P fish.