Abstract:
A study was carried out to select the most suitable lagoon fish for the
production of fish pickle. The abundantly available popular Batticaloa lagoon fishes
were selected based on the data collected from a questionnaire survey. Accordingly fish
pickles were prepared using Tilapia, Etroplus and Catfish. Nutritional assessment and
sensory evaluation were performed to select a suitable lagoon fish to prepare the fish
pickle. The tilapia fish pickle was found to be superior in nutritional composition. It had
high amount of soft flesh, protein and ash and moderate amount of fat The tilapia fish
pickle was chosen as superior by the sensory panelists. It expressed higher scores for
flavour, texture, taste and over all eating quality compared to the others.
Cat fish pickle had the amount of fat but this fish is not suitable for the
preparation of pickle due to its small amount of flesh, fishy odour, low amount of
protein and ash, and lowest scores for flavor, texture, taste and overall eating quality.
Etroplus gave moderate nutritional values and sensory scores. Therefore, tilapia was
selected as the most suitable fish founding in the Batticaloa lagoon for the preservation
as fish pickle.
