DOI:
VOLUME 2 – AUGUST ISSUE 5
*Alemu Lema, Nura Tuma, Derribew Hailu, and Gebawo Tibesso
ABSTRACT
Gelatin is widely used in various industries due to its functional and technological properties. This study was aimed to extract gelatin from African catfish bones using the juice of pineapple peel. The extracted gelatin was then used as luring bait in longline fisheries. About 4.2% gelatin yield was extracted from African catfish bone. Four different types of bait (gelatin, fish fillet, termites and soap) were evaluated using 25 hooks. All baits were randomly arranged, replicated and hung on hooks of similar sizes. The total length and total weight of each captured fish were measured to the nearest 0.1 cm and 0.1g, respectively. A total of 52, (25 female and 27 male) Claria gariepinus were caught during the study period. The total length of the fish ranged from 24 cm to 58 cm for females and from 27 cm to 58 cm for males. The corresponding total weight ranged between 83.6 g and 1412.1 g for females and 147.6 g to 1362.2 g for males. The ‘b’ values were 3.1029, 3.283, 2.922, and 3.0594 for African catfish caught using soap, gelatin, fish fillet and termite bait, respectively. The catch efficiency of soap was better, but termite did not endure longer while fish fillet putrid immediately in water. The catch efficiency of gelatin as fish luring bait was suboptimal as compared to soap, alternatively the use of soap without phosphate is recommended for luring bait. It is recommended that, the incorporation of bio-attractants into gelatin bait is important to increase the visibility as gelatin is colorless.
Keywords:
Catfish fish, Gelatin, Length at first maturity, Length-weight, sex ratio.
