Fish is one of the most nutritionally valuable and highly perishable food stuffs. The delicacy of fish can be easily noticed from its rapid quality deterioration immediately after harvest, if held improperly and not processed promptly. The natural composition of fish and the contaminations they encounter during the processing are the main causes for the onset and subsequent undesirable quality changes in these commodities. The spoilage patterns of fish are broadly categorized as enzymatic, chemical and microbiological. The growth of pathogenic microorganisms as a result of contamination mostly does not produce detectable changes in the sensory qualities of fish, which adds to the challenge of fish processing. Thus, a number of preservation mechanisms have been and are being developed to tackle the quality and safety problems associated with fish and fishery products. Although every method can produce effective results, yet there is no single best method capable of ensuring the safety as well as halt the progress of spoilage at the same time. The various preservation methods used in the fish and fishery industry can be categorized into three as physical, chemical and bio-preservation methods. These methods have different modes of actions and are applied to extend the shelf life of fish and fishery products. The present review article provides an overview of some of the physical, chemical and biological preservation methods applied to fish and fishery products.

The open sun rack and solar tent drier were evaluated for their drying effectiveness to evaluate the quality of Stelophorus heterolobus. The highest mean temperature in the solar tent drier was found to be 45 0 c, with relative humidity 42%, while in the open sun rack drying was 35 0 c, with relative humidity 47% at an air speed of 1.8 meter per second. The average moisture, crude protein, total lipids, free fatty acid, peroxide, total volatile basic nitrogen and ash content of the solar tent dried products were 7.5 %, 79.32%, 3.74%, 0.50%, 14.66% , 19.65% and 9.90%, and for open sun rack were7.7% 75.32%, 3.20%, 0.54%, 13.66%, 21.80% and 9.20%, respectively. Total plate count (TPC) of 3.2 × 10 3 cfu/g and 5.7 ×10 3 cfu/g was found within the average level for solar tent and open sun rack driers respectively.The quality of the fish products dried in the solar tent drier was superior compared to that of open sun rack-dried products. It took only three days for the fish to be dried in the solar tent drier compared with the open sun rack dried fish products which took five days to dry.

Fish consumption rate Globalization, industrialization, economic growth and transition in lifestyle patterns has greatly influenced the choice of food and the