Title: The effect of different cooling system on quality of pelagic species

Proper handling, rapid chilling and storage of fish on boats ensure the quality of fish. In Sri Lanka, pelagic fatty species such as tuna and various small species sustain great post harvest losses as improper cooling and storage of fish on board boats. Therefore, effective cooling systems are needed to improve the quality of the fish. This study attempts to investigate the quality of a typical pelagic fatty species, herring, stored in three different cooling systems. The cooling systems were designed from ice and sea water (CSW), ice and fresh water (CFW) and pure ice. The chemical and microbiological parameters were monitored as indicators of quality changes of herring. The results of this study show rate of microbiological growth of herring in the CSW is slower than in pure ice. The fat and protein content of herring in the CSW system decreased more than in the pure ice system while the salt content increased steadily in CSW during storage. Herring in CSW system was of better quality during experiment. The CSW cooling system could be introduced for rapid cooling and storage at low temperatures of tuna and small pelagic fatty species in Sri Lanka. The cool sea water (CSW) systems could be prepared by mixing ice and sea water with fresh water to reduce the salt uptake and keep the salt content of fish below 0.7%.