Acceptability and Shelf Life Evaluation of Surimi Gel-Based Fish Bait under Refrigerated and Ambient Storage

This study aimed to evaluate the shelf life of a surimi gel-based fish bait (SGFB) made with lizard fish surimi gel and 5% grouper bioattractant. The changes in its physio-chemical structure and microbial changes of the SGFB during the refrigerated and ambient storage were evaluated. Moisture content, water holding capacity (WHC) and folding test grades appeared to be decreasing while expressible moisture content (EMC) of SGFB showed an increasing trend as the frozen storage period extends. Total plate count (TPC) of SGFB increased significantly in ambient stored baits when compared to refrigerated stored baits. Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) revealed the changes in baits structure during frozen storage, the baits became irregular and got loosened resulting in less smooth structure which shows that as the storage period increases, the Ra value increases and thus also increases the rigidity of the bait and hook holding capacity. Physical changes of the SGFB were evaluated and it resulted that weightloss and shrinkage (%) increased significantly in open condition than at closed condition, when baits were stored at ambient storage. While refrigerated stored baits resulted no change in it. Acceptability test of artificial baits under frozen storage showed a strong negative correlation among fishes however, bait stored in ambient temperature showed poor result as it was spoiled within 2 days. The study suggests that the even though refrigerated stored artificial fish bait showed physiochemical changes in SGFB, it doesn’t show any negative impact on the acceptability rate of baits hence, surimi gel-based fish bait (SGFB) incorporated with grouper bioattractant can act as an effective artificial fish bait. However further research in open sea condition may confirm its suitability in commercial fishing.