Adding value in fish of low demand: the case of Kalymnos island-Greece

Axis 4 of the fisheries funds in the European Union and the Hellenic Member State support the sustainable development of fisheries areas. Thus, local fishermen especially their spouses launched their own artisanal fish processing laboratory in pilot basis, called 'Kalymnos Seafood' in the island of Kalymnos, Greece. Fisheries Research Institute of Kavala cooperate with the fishermen spouses in terms of training support, installation of mechanical equipment and quality control of fresh and processed fishery products. Research results showed that fresh fish had excellent initial quality but the applied traditional processing methods introduced some negative effects on nutritional value of the final products. These effects could be eliminated through the use of different packing fill media, modified atmosphere instead vacuum or air packaging, brining instead dry salting, cold instead hot smoking and lower thermal conditions during processing and preservation. This work should be especially useful to investors and young researchers in fish processing and quality fields, or anyone else who may be considering utilizing investigations for producing and marketing fishery deli foods.