MANGALURU: College of Fisheries, Mangaluru, in association with other institutes across India have come up with a sustainable method to convert the fish skin, which is typically discarded as waste by the fish industry, into chrome-free eco-friendly leather.
The study was taken up under Dr B Manjanaik, Professor and Head of Department of Fish Processing Technology, College of Fisheries, Mangaluru at Hoige Bazar and it focused on standardising the leather production from the skin of unicorn leatherjacket (Aluterus monoceros) using chrome-free tanning methods.
“Sustainable utilisation of the fish skin waste for the production of chrome-free leather is an eco-friendly alternative to the old leather-making methods, which often involve use of harmful chemicals. This not only reduces environmental impact but also adds value to a material that would otherwise be wasted,” he said.
The leather industry sources its raw materials from exotic species like ostriches, rabbits and crocodiles as well as from the hides and skins of cattle, camels, sheep and goats. There are some fish species which are bigger in size like Groupers, Catfish, Leatherjacket, Cobia etc. These fish are available but most of these fish species are consumed in the form of fillets (meat separated from the skin) since they are a bit thick.
“We realised that a lot of fish skin waste is generated from these species and discarded. We collected skin waste of different species from fish landing centres, some of the industries in Mangaluru, processed it and converted it into leather. On the nutritional components, fish skin is a rich source of collagen. Type 1 collagen is highly abundant in fish that we have extracted and purified and characterised it converting it in the form of powder. Collagen is important in the skin which provides durability, flexibility and mechanical strength,” he said.