Fish processing means processing the fish for increasing the shelf life. Both Fresh fish and stored fish are used for processing. For frozen fish thawing to room temperature is necessary before processing. Washing of whole fish is carried out to remove dirt.

Different steps of Fish Processing are:

Precooking: It helps to remove the fish oils and coagulates the protein in the fish to loosen the meat. Precooking is carried out by using steam/ hot air/ oil or smoke.

Cooling: Fish are then cooled using refrigeration or cold air. Method and time required for cooling depend on the type and size of the fish. 

Cleaning: Undesirable parts of the fish like heads, fins, bones are removed by cutting or chopping into desirable sizes using a cutter or slicer. 

Canning: Pieces of fish are then canned with brine or oil.

Sterilization: After sealing of cans using sealer, the cans are placed in an autoclave for sterilization. Autoclave sterilizes the materials by heating them up to a particular temperature for a specific period of time.