Seafood is popular worldwide, but its availability is limited, for not only are plenty of land masses away from the seafront, the food itself is very perishable. When dried, the shelf life of fish gets considerably extended, and fish in this form is also well-liked. The process of drying fish is to salt it within hours of its capture. This fish is then dried after about four days. Dry fish have a strong odour, but a rich flavour. Some of the common fish that are dried for consumption are mackerel, ribbon fish, shark, Malabar trevally, Bombay duck, sole fish and Indian sardine. Since fish is mostly dried out in the open on sand and under the sun, hygiene becomes a big challenge. Thus, there has always been a demand for a hygienic system of drying fish. To cater to this requirement, Karnataka Fisheries Development Corporation Limited (KFDC) joined hands with the College of Fisheries in Mangaluru to develop a solar-cum-biomass fish drying unit about two years ago, the results of which have been encouraging, according to the corporation. Speaking to Bangalore Mirror, VK Shetty, managing director of KFDC said the unit is useful in drying fish in the most systematic and hygienic way. Two such units were set up at Aqua Bounty in Bramhavar and at the Shridevi Self-Help Group in Udyavara. In one shift, about 100 kg of fish can be dried and the unit can work on three shifts around the clock as the drying time is 7-8 hours. KFDC has experimented with 7-8 varieties of fish and recorded the results. While the first unit is running successfully and has dried about 15 tonnes of fish, the second one at Shridevi is expected to resume full-fledged operations from this season. The cost of one unit is around Rs 3 lakh. KFDCL has also sold some fish dried at Aqua Bounty through its outlets. Normally, fish is dried on sand, which is not free form contamination. There is also the fear of rats moving around, bird droppings and other uncleanliness. This system of drying fish is free from such hazards, and also ensures that its nutrition is retained, said Shetty. Dr Shivakumar Magada, professor and head of Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK), Dakshina Kannada, revealed that the end user is generally not aware of how fish is dried. Though it is referred to as the poor man’s food, dry fish has a huge market and is exported in large quantities. The National Fisheries Development Board must promote this technology in a big way.”