Jellyfish from Fisheries By-Catches as a Sustainable Source of High-Value Compounds with Biotechnological Applications

Abstract

The world’s population growth and consequent increased demand for food, energy and materials together with the decrease of some natural resources have highlighted the compelling need to use sustainably existing resources and find alternative sources to satisfy the needs of growing and longer-aging populations. In this review, we explore the potential use of a specific fisheries by-catch, jellyfish, as a sustainable source of high-value compounds. Jellyfish are often caught up with fish into fishing gear and nets, then sorted and discarded. Conversely, we suggest that this by-catch may be used to obtain food, nutraceutical products, collagen, toxins and fluorescent compounds to be used for biomedical applications and mucus for biomaterials. These applications are based on studies which indicate the feasibility of using jellyfish for biotechnology. Because jellyfish exhibit seasonal fluctuations in abundance, jellyfish by-catches likely follow the same pattern. Therefore, this resource may not be constantly available throughout the year, so the exploitation of the variable abundances needs to be optimized. Despite the lack of data about jellyfish by-catches, the high value of their compounds and their wide range of applications suggest that jellyfish by-catches are a resource which is discarded at present, but needs to be re-evaluated for exploitation within the context of a circular economy in the era of zero waste.

X‐Ray Visible Protein Scaffolds by Bulk Iodination

“…This material has been suggested as more sustainable alternative to the established porcine and bovine collagen sources. [ 61,62 ] Finally, we labeled a commercially‐available silk‐suture (Ethicon, 3‐0), which showed an increase in HU of over ≈1400 (Figure 1J; Figure S6 and Video S4, Supporting Information), consistent with the unusually high tyrosine content of silkworm (Bombyx mori) silk, at five to sixfold that of collagen (UniProt: P05790 · FIBH_BOMMO).…”

Jellyfish as an Alternative Source of Bioactive Antiproliferative Compounds

“…Firstly, jellyfish are abundant and often give rise to blooms which interfere with fisheries and power plant activities along the coasts [7]. Secondly, they are cheap to obtain as a by-catch of the above-mentioned activities and using them for their compounds may actually become a way to recycle their biomass within the context of a circular economy and a sustainable use of resources [72][73][74]. In particular, the extraction of high-value compounds may be an effective way to exploit the resource in western countries, where the consumption of jellyfish as food is extremely limited due to the different dietary tradition compared to eastern countries.…”

Structural characterization of solvent-based food preparation of jellyfish

“…In recent years, there has been a notable surge of interest in utilizing jellyfish as a potentially sustainable food source to create innovative dishes and food preparations. 1,2 When introducing new food items, the texture, and perceived mouthfeel play vital roles in the overall evaluation and acceptance of the food. 3 However, achieving an appealing texture for jellyfish products presents a challenge as they consist of highly delicate gels composed of only around 1% biological matter, which further tend to biodegrade easily.…”