VietNamNet Bridge - A machine to anesthetize tuna, which keeps fish fresh after being caught, has been invented by an engineer and lecturer at Tuy Hoa Industry Junior College.

 

 

 

 

Engineer Pham Duy Phuong has tested the machine on a 293CV fishing boat owned by Le Tan Hong, a fisherman in Tuy Hoa City of the central province of Phu Yen. 

Phuong decided to create the tuna anesthetizing equipment to serve tuna exploitation for export after he learned about the equipment and technology for fishing ocean tuna provided by Japan to Binh Dinh province’s fishermen.

Phuong noted that the equipment is very useful, but it is too expensive, worth hundreds of millions of dong. Besides, it is too cumbersome for Vietnamese farmers to use.

He believes that it would be more feasible to create anesthetizing equipment which has lower production costs and brings higher convenience.

And he has successfully created such equipment. Phuong’s anesthetizer weighs 20 kilos only and has the price of VND25 million, while it is safe for users.

The equipment uses 24V power from a battery, enabled through an electrical pulse with the current of 20-35A. As the power has effects within a radius of one meter, it will not affect aquatic creatures further than one meter. 

When fish rise to the bait and it is just 30 meters below water level, fishermen need to put the round-shaped anesthetizing equipment into the water. The equipment is connected with a fishing line attached with a fish-hook.

When the equipment shackles the fish mouth, the power button is pressed to anesthetize the fish for 3-5 seconds. It takes only 10 minutes to bring the fish from the water to the deck.

After that, fishermen put the fish into an ice water tank at the temperature of 8-10o and in an aeration system to soak for about 30 minutes. The fish then needs to be treated and cleaned before it is carried to cold storage.

Le Tan Hong, the fisherman who first used the anesthetizing equipment created by Phuong, said he had used the machine on a successful sailing trip.

“I had an 11-day trip despite strong winds and waves. I caught five tuna fish with the weight of 340 kilos and some other kinds of fish. The equipment is good. The fish did not suffer from any disproportion of bones,” he said.

Hong also said that all the fish he caught can satisfy the requirements to be fresh products for export. 

The fish have been sold to Ba Hai JSC at the price of VND190,000 per kilo. Meanwhile, the tuna caught by other fishermen at the same time were sold at VND115,000 per kilo.

Dat Viet