Is seal meat eaten? Seal meat is good for food, but it is not profitable to trade in it - scientists of Primorye
Each nation has its own culinary traditions. For example, if the daily diet of the inhabitants of Europe and the overwhelming majority of Russians includes such types of meat as beef, pork or lamb, then for the representatives of some peoples of the north, dishes made from the meat of the inhabitants of the sea are more familiar: walruses, seals or seals. By the way, not so long ago in the Russian media there were statements that such delicacies would soon appear on the shelves of our stores... How ready is the domestic consumer to get acquainted with such products? A big question, because few of us know what seal meat tastes like and what can be cooked from it at home.
Seal taste
A conversation about the taste of seal meat should begin with the fact that, although this marine mammal has been considered a traditional object of fishing for northern peoples, for example, the Evenks, for centuries, it is reliably known that his meat was never widely consumed... That is, of course, the indigenous inhabitants of the northern regions of Russia ate such meat, but they did it only when absolutely necessary, when it became a matter of survival in extreme conditions. As for the daily use of seals, there is no such tradition. These animals were hunted mainly for their skins, which were used for sewing clothes and furnishing dwellings. For domestic purposes, fat was also used, while meat was allowed to feed dogs, hunting bait and even fertilizer, burying it in specially prepared pits.
It's no secret that taste qualities meat of any animal is largely determined by its diet. In this regard, it is necessary to clarify that the seal menu is mostly fish, which has a corresponding effect on the culinary characteristics seal meat... Those who have tasted seal meat say that it tastes strongly of fish. Moreover, this smell and taste are so stable that they are not eliminated even under the influence of special agents and a large amount of aromatic spices.
Also, experts note the high level of fat content of such a product. This is explained by the fact that the seal lives in the cold seas and without a significant supply of fat in such conditions it simply cannot survive. Thus, You cannot call dietary seal meat - this is a fact.
Culinary perspectives
What can be prepared from seal meat? Skilled culinary experts claim that with a certain approach, any product can become the basis delicious food that will win the heart of even the most discerning gourmet. For example, experts claim that Seals can make wonderful cutlets- this is the most acceptable and promising option, since for cooking cutlets or other minced meat products, it is possible to mix seal meat with other, more familiar types of meat for us. This will have a positive effect on both the taste of the final product and the level of fat content in it. The addition of a large amount of appropriate seasonings and spices to the minced meat also helps to solve the problem of specific taste and smell.
More it is believed that this species will help make the seal meat taste more palatable. culinary processing like smoking. Especially if in the technology of hot smoking sawdust is used from such wood species that have a strong persistent aroma. Besides, the possibility of producing stew from seal meat is being considered. True, I must say that similar experiments have already been staged by the Soviet food industry - in the 80s, whale meat stew appeared on the shelves. Then the experiment failed - the Soviet consumer did not like such a delicacy.
So, seal meat tastes quite specific - there is a rather persistent smell and characteristic taste of fish, which is the basis of the diet of these mammals. It is difficult to get rid of them, even careful preliminary processing, as well as the use of a large amount of fragrant spices, solves this problem only partially. Despite this, some experts argue that thanks to modern technologies in the food industry, it is quite possible to prepare wonderful semi-finished products from seal meat, as well as smoked meats and stew.
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The food ration of the coastal and reindeer Chukchi was different. Its basis for the nomadic population was reindeer meat, for the sedentary - the products of the marine hunting industry. True, as V.G. Bogoraz, “reindeer Chukchi have a great inclination to sea food. ... On the other hand, the coastal Chukchi and Eskimos also highly value reindeer meat and call it“ the sweet food of reindeer breeders ”(Bogoraz, 1991, p. 126). the groups constantly exchanged the products of their trades.
The peculiarity of the diet of the coastal Chukchi was its diversity, which is typical for all Arctic peoples engaged in hunting: "In the societies of sea hunters in the Arctic, a traditional diet has developed, characterized by the highest variety of foods and dishes in comparison with the diet of other Arctic peoples" (Bogoslovskaya et al., 2007.S. 372). It is characteristic that the food of the sedentary Chukchi of the northern and Bering Sea coasts was somewhat different, which is explained by the peculiarities of the climate and natural conditions, the specifics of the fishing routine of both.
Among the food products of the coastal Chukchi, one of the main places was occupied by meat, fat and walrus entrails. The meat of walruses caught in the summer was cleaned of fat and put into a special pit where water was poured. In such a pit, meat could be stored until the onset of cold weather. A significant part of the summer walrus meat was dried and stored for future use. Dried meat was eaten in winter, usually pounded and mixed with fat. The insides of walruses were also harvested for the winter. At the same time, the lungs and heart of the walrus were cut and dried on hangers, the kidneys were dried for the winter. The insides of the walrus were often eaten raw. Especially appreciated raw liver... She was considered a good remedy for recuperating after a large blood loss, she was treated for stomach, intestinal and pulmonary diseases.
Most often, walrus meat was eaten in a fermented form: " Kopalchen- pickled walrus meat - for the coastal Chukchi was an indispensable dish for at least six to seven months a year ... Kopalhen is eaten "like bread". It is eaten by itself, as well as with fish and herbs. ... Copalchen is extremely easy to digest. It is not chewed, but simply swallowed "(Afanasyeva, Simchenko, 1993. pp. 65-66). To prepare copalhen, pieces of fresh walrus meat, together with lard and skin, were placed in special earthen pits, which were covered with sod on top. fermented. The most valuable food product walrus fat, both subcutaneous and internal, was considered. Fresh and fermented, it was used as a universal food additive... Walrus oil was also used for the conservation of wild plants. It was kept in sacks of seal skins.
The meat and fat of the seal were of no less importance for the nutrition of the Chukchi. "The seal was mined all year round and the most different ways... Seal meat ... was a constant ingredient in the menu of coastal hunters "(Ibid. P. 73). For many centuries, the population of coastal Chukotka used whale products for food." Traditional cuisine Chukotka's marine hunters include more than 20 different dishes made from meat, fat, skin, fins, tongue and innards of bowhead and gray whales and beluga whales "(Bogoslovskaya et al., 2007, p. 375).
In the collection " On the path of Bogoraz"some recipes for dishes prepared by the Naukan Eskimos and Chukchi Uelen from whaling products are given:" Whale skin with lard (man "so") is traditionally eaten raw and boiled. For the future, it is harvested by tightly shifting the leaves of Ivan-tea (vevegtyt) in a barrel and flooding with water, then it has a pleasant smell of Ivan-tea and retains its freshness for a long time. Such skin is eaten only in winter. In the fall, with the onset of hard frosts, bowhead whale manna is placed in large plates in a meat pit, where it is stored until spring. This is good gift when visiting reindeer herders in neighboring villages. In winter, raw mann "so" is eaten before going to bed, and boiled mann is often consumed with a mushy mass of leaves of the three-winged mountaineer (kyugak). Hunters, going out to sea, take with them manna "tak" as a stock of food. ...
In summer, fresh gray whale fat is eaten with the grated leaves of the Knotweed. Pickled whale liver is eaten with fresh boiled skin and walrus lard (kahu). Sour liver juice is drunk together with broth (k "ayuk) from seal fat.
Fresh buds (takhtuk) are boiled before meals, and the buds are eaten raw, dipped in melted seal fat (toe) (Tein et al., 2008, p. 177).
Among the nomadic Chukchi, the traditional food ration necessarily involved the regular consumption of venison. The insides of the deer (liver, kidneys, heart), as well as the eyes, bone marrow, tendons, and cartilage of the nose were eaten raw immediately after the slaughter of the animal. The meat was eaten mainly boiled and dried. About the process of drying meat by Chukchi V.G. Bogoraz wrote the following: " In the spring, around mid-April, the Chukchi reindeer dry meat in the open air; under the combined action of the daytime heat and nighttime cold, even large pieces of meat completely come out, preserving their taste and tenderness. Dried meat is slightly smoked over the hearth in the tent"(Bogoraz, 1991, p. 129).
Meat broth was drunk and used to prepare various dishes: “In the past, young and middle-aged reindeer herders significantly limited themselves in water consumption. children and older children. Meat broth was used in the preparation of vegetable food "(Afanasyeva, Simchenko, 1993. pp. 88-89).
Blood stew was an everyday dish. It was cooked with wild garlic - wild onion and sarana - kimchak. "Blood stew was an indispensable element in all rituals of asking for well-being. It was splashed in all directions of the world, starting from the east, when such rituals were performed" (Ibid. P. 89).
Reindeer blood was also prepared popular dish For this, finely dissected cartilage, veins, films, as well as gastric juice, which was obtained by squeezing out the green mass contained in the stomach of a slaughtered deer, were added to the blood. All this blood mixture was fermented in the deer's stomach.
Among the ritual meat dishes a special place was occupied by the sausage from the caecum - rorat. This sausage "was an obligatory ingredient in all rituals, without exception. Fire was fed to it, sacrificial parts were cut off from it to supernatural forces of nature. It played the role of a kind of sacrament in all sacred acts" (Ibid. P. 92). One of the popular festive dishes from venison - tychgitagav. To prepare it, bone fat was added to the crushed, grated reindeer meat. The resulting mass was made into koloboks and frozen.
In addition to the meat of domestic deer, the Chukchi also ate the meat of wild deer, bighorn sheep, hares, partridges, and waterfowl. The Chukchi have some prohibitions and restrictions related to animal food. So, according to V. G. Bogoraz, "Chukchi reindeer abstain from wolverine and black bear meat, all types of wolves and most of the birds of prey" (Bogoraz, 1991, p. 130).
Both nomadic and sedentary Chukchi were widespread various fish dishes... We caught mainly salmon. The coastal Chukchi "put summer fish in ground pits, laid out along the bottom and sides with alder branches. The fish were laid in several layers and also covered with a decking of alder branches and laid with sod or covered with earth. After a while, the fish fermented and froze with the onset of cold weather" ( Afanasyeva, Simchenko, 1993.S. 74). Frozen fish was eaten with copalchen and sauerkraut.
The reindeer Chukchi “the main way of preserving fish was making yukola, yukola was made from any salmon. When cutting, the belly was first cut from the anus to the head and the entrails were taken out with caviar and milk. The caviar was immediately hung to dry ...
Then the abdomen was cut off - the knife was led from the abdominal gills to the tail, separating both sides at once. The abdomen was the most tasty part. Fish bellies were collected and hung up for smoking in a yaranga. Further processing consisted in dismembering the fish carcass into the actual jukola part and the spine with the head. ... Yukola consisted of two plates of meat, joined at the tail. The yukola was hung up with its tail up to dry ... Yukola was an indispensable ingredient in the food of reindeer breeders. She was not served with a rare meal. As a rule, they drank tea with yukola ... (Ibid. P. 96).
A special dish was prepared from fish heads. To do this, "caviar, washed and pounded between the palms, was put into a bag of sealskin, and fish heads were put in it. This mass was allowed to sour for three to four days, after which the heads were eaten" (Ibid. P. 97)
Fish dishes were a must at many reindeer herding festivals, such as the autumn herd meeting. Different groups of Chukchi had their own traditions of using for food and harvesting edible plants. Some groups prepared herbal mixtures based on the "golden root" - arctic radiols in others - the basis of plant preparations was made up of polar alder (willow) leaves. Plant food supplies were constantly exchanged.
According to the observations of G.M. Afanasyeva and Yu.B. Simchenko, among the Bering Sea Chukchi, "the most common root is bite, which is identified by modern Chukchi with potatoes ... The leaves and flowers of this plant are collected and boiled in water - they make green porridge, which is eaten in winter as an additive to copalhena and fresh meat"(Ibid.).
The Bering Sea Chukchi also used the roots of marsh grass for food, which were taken from mice minks: “The procedure for collecting plants stored for the winter by mice was strictly regulated. every autumn they take their sons' young wives and their own female descendants, who are not married, and take them to the tundra to traditional lands, where they are shown mouse holes, which do not look anew every time, and they open up well-known holes. that there is continuity between specific Chukchi families and mouse families ... There are several immutable rules for the exploitation of mouse stocks, violation of which automatically entails severe punishment.
This includes the prohibition to touch "alien" mouse holes. It is believed that if a woman disturbs the mice not on her site, then her "own" mice will leave the traditional grounds out of solidarity with their relatives. Another mandatory rule is to leave mice for the winter with yukola or dried meat in an appropriate amount for the stocks taken.
Every woman carries a bundle with her dried fish, which he distributes among the mouse pantries. The third statement - it is categorically impossible to take the amount of stocks of mice equal to half, or even more than half. For violation of this rule, not only the offender herself, but also her family had to pay with various misfortunes. The fourth rule is to carefully cut and turn away the sod layer above the burrow. Having taken away the stored plants, you need to put the layer on top as carefully as it was lying. I had to see holes that were repeatedly visited by people, and the mice did not leave them.
Last thing important rule: the time of collecting plants from mouse holes should be strictly observed - a fairly long time before snow falls. According to the Chukchi regulations, this was required to be done by aphids so that the mice had time to replenish the stocks of the plants they needed ... (Afanasyeva, Simchenko, 1993, pp. 69-70).
Shiksha, cloudberries, lingonberries, blueberries, currants, honeysuckle were collected from the berries. The berries were eaten raw, as a delicacy, or they were an integral component of various fish and meat dishes: they were mixed with fish caviar, crushed raw deer liver, and boiled fish liver. Mushrooms (except for fly agaric) were eaten extremely rarely. They were considered deer food. Amanita was a ritual food... It was used to make a "trip" to other worlds, for fortune-telling, to maintain tone during heavy physical exertion.
The diet of the coastal Chukchi invariably included various products that were "supplied" by the sea. Seaweed they ate raw and boiled. It was eaten with walrus meat and walrus blood.
From the beginning of contacts between the Chukchi and Europeans, flour products, sugar, bread, and spices began to occupy a significant place in their diet. V.G. Bogoraz wrote: “The Chukchi love to try“ foreign food ”and even get used to such cultural spices as mustard and pepper. They willingly sacrifice sugar, bread, etc., believing that spirits also love new types of food ”(Bogoraz, 1991, p. 134). It is characteristic that “by introducing flour products into their diet, the indigenous people of the North significantly changed the methods of their culinary processing, adapting to the requirements of the Arctic environment. Bogoslovskaya et al., 1997, p. 383).
Each nation has its own unique national dishes. Czech cuisine is hard to imagine without pork knuckle, Italian - without thin slices of carpaccio, and Spanish - without jamon. And here the National dish Nenets, Chukchi and Eskimos is called Kopalhen.
The peoples of the North have been using it since childhood meat delicacy, however, people who are unprepared cannot try kopalchen, since the consequences can be dire.
Kopalchen is a northern “delicacy”, the description of which may seem disgusting to many. The dish is “prepared” most often from fresh venison, less often - from walrus, seal or even a whale. The carcass of the animal is harvested as a whole, such a supply of food can be enough for the whole family for several weeks or even months.
The first step in the "preparation" of copalchen is to properly kill the animal. When it comes to deer, the healthiest and strongest of the herd is chosen. Further - they beat him off from the herd and keep him hungry for several days. So the stomach of the deer is completely cleansed in a natural way, and the animal can be sent to slaughter. They kill the deer by strangulation, trying not to damage the skin, so that there are no wounds on the body. Then the carcass of the animal is immersed in a swamp, sprinkled with turf, and a mark is made at the place of its "burial". Interestingly, in the Soviet years, pioneer ties were used as marking, which were clearly visible and did not fade in any weather.
The carcass is left under water for at least six months. Then, in winter, they dig up and eat. During this time, the meat begins to decompose, cadaveric poisons are released, which is why an unprepared person should never try kopalchen. And hardly any of the tourists will want to taste the carrion: Kopalchen has a specific look and smell, which completely discourages appetite. Local peoples eat such meat with pleasure, for them it is a life-saving reserve in the event that hunters cannot get food for a long time. Eskimos and Nenets got used to cutting frozen kopalchen into thin slices and seasoning with salt before use.
Kopalchen has been known since ancient times. Such meat is high in calories, so just a few pieces are enough for an adult man to work in the cold all day without freezing or physically exhausted.
So that the use of copalchen does not cause poisoning, children are taught to fresh meat from birth. Instead of a nipple, babies are given a piece of meat or bacon, and after the child has grown up, he eats kopalchen along with the older members of the family. Kopalchen, by the way, is also used to feed sled dogs.
Each northern people has its own traditions. For example, the Nenets prefer to harvest deer meat for the winter, the Chukchi - walruses, and the Canadian Inuit - whales. Another version of this dish is a seal stuffed with seagulls. The method of preparation is the same: leave the skinned carcass for several months in the permafrost, and then, having dug it out, can be eaten.
The cadaveric poison contained in the rotten meat will definitely lead to severe poisoning or death if a stranger decides to try such a dish, but for local residents this is a real salvation from starvation and a delicacy.
sources
Here are some facts about these, at first glance, unsightly animals:
Walruses weigh from 700 to 1600 kilograms
Some especially large males can weigh even more - up to 2 tons. The largest ones live in the waters of the Pacific Ocean, while in the rest there are smaller species. The average life span of a walrus is about 40 years.
Walrus meat can kill, but not everyone
The fact is that the Eskimos are considered the real masters in the preparation of walrus dishes. Their recipe is as follows: a dead walrus carcass is buried in the ground until the corpse begins to ferment, and then the walrus can be dug up and eaten raw. In the local dialect, the dish is called igunak.
The local Eskimo got used to such food since childhood, and his body perceives such meat normally. And if a person is not prepared, then you don't even have to try. Everything can end in severe poisoning, infection, or even death.
Walruses eat shellfish
The walrus consumes up to 50 kg of shellfish per day. That's where he got a 15 cm layer of fat from! To find food for himself, he has to bury his tusks deep into the seabed. Soon hundreds of shells float to the surface of the water, where a walrus is already waiting for them.
The longer the walrus is in cold water, the lighter it is.
This is due to the fact that in cold water the vessels are narrowed. Therefore, young walruses are brown in color, and old ones, which have been in cold water for a long time, are almost pink in color.
The walrus has only 2 enemies
The most dangerous enemies of the walrus are killer whales and polar bears. Although a person sometimes poses for him at times the most terrible threat.
If a baby walrus is left without a mother, then another walrus will adopt him
Yes, even if the mother dies, there will still be a female who will feed the cub until it gets stronger and grows its tusks to defend against attackers.
Walruses that live in captivity are left without tusks
No, they are not sawed off by poachers, just following their instincts, the walrus begins to dig the smooth walls of the pool in search of food, so the tusks break.
Recall that earlier we wrote that
Scientists from the All-Russian Research Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography (VNIRO), the leading institute of the domestic fishery industry, have developed a system for processing seal meat, as well as a recipe for a whole range of food products from it.
According to experts, sausages, cutlets, sausages and other semi-finished products from sea animals will be beneficial for the health of Russians. According to the research institute, in the event of the start of industrial capture of seals, the development will be a success for business. In the meantime, pinnipeds are caught only by the indigenous peoples of the North in Chukotka.
Two years ago, the Institute already tried to produce products from seal meat. "Sausages" made prototypes and sent them for tasting to the governor of the Magadan region. “Greens” collected signatures in defense of pinnipeds and that was all.
According to the head of the VNIRO laboratory of marine mammals, Alexander Boltnev, most of the species have already regained their numbers, but many of them remain in the Red Book. In particular, and for the reason that no one cares about them.
Fighting the bad smell
"Sausage" was developed by employees of the Research Institute Mikhail Glubokovsky, Abdurakhman Abdurakhmanov and Zoya Slapoguzova.
The method is identical to the production of regular sausages. The following components are used: pieces of seal meat 400 - 600 g each, fish fillet, lard, potato starch, onions, garlic, smoke flavor, spices, salt, sugar and water.
In total, the research institute has developed two sausage recipes. The first assumes the use of "red" and "white" fish species - salmon and cod fish as a supplement, the second focuses on spices - there will be a large number ofground black pepper, allspice, coriander, ginger, nutmeg, oregano and mustard seed.
This, first of all, is done because the seal meat, with all its advantages (high protein content - 42% per 100 grams), has a rather unpleasant odor.
If we talk about the business future of "pinniped" sausage, it is exactly getting rid of a very specific "aromatic bouquet" that marketers put at the forefront:
“It’s not enough to make a product, it must also be presented to the consumer correctly,” Igor Berezin, President of the Russian Guild of Marketers, told Life. - Now on the market there are sausages made from horse meat, bear meat, venison, etc. Some people like them, some don't. The task of technologists is to make a product that does not have an unpleasant taste or specific smell. It is very important.
Experts also noted that in the case of a mass consumer, a story from the category "this is a very useful and rare delicacy, but it just smells bad" will not work. Everyone knows that many traditional dishes peoples of the North will seem to the average person as a real culinary perversion.
Take the same "kopalchen" - poultry meat, which is put in the skin of a deer or walrus and left for several months in a swamp or buried in the ground. The output turns out to be quite fetid and dangerous for the health of a person who has not eaten fermented food since childhood.
In other words, these delicacies are not just disgusting to the uninitiated, they are simply harmful to their health. And the point here is no longer in the smell, but in the consistency of the meat itself.
“Morzhatina, for example, is preliminarily fermented in special pits so that it sour,” says Boris Dudarev, deputy head of the Department of State Control, Supervision, Protection of Aquatic Biological Resources and Fisheries Regulation in the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug. - It's like marinating kebabs. Otherwise, it is indigestible, the body does not assimilate it, you cannot chew it. Then this sauerkraut is somehow cooked and the dogs are fed or eaten by themselves. It's easier with seals. In principle, seal meat can be processed. For experienced industrialists, it will not be difficult to cook stew from it. In addition, such work has already been carried out in Chukotka.
Battle for the development of fishing
According to the head of the VNIRO laboratory of marine mammals, Alexander Boltnev, the development is primarily aimed at the development of fishing in Chukotka. The sea animals are hunted mainly by the indigenous people of the region. Today they are experiencing certain production problems.
"Usually people (the indigenous peoples of the North) hunt seals for themselves and eat them right away. And since planning is planned there, it would be possible to create a production of frozen semi-finished products to feed the indigenous population. New jobs will also be created, which is very important for the region."
Deputy Head of the Department of State Control, Supervision, Protection of Aquatic Biological Resources and Regulation of Fisheries in the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug (deals with the regulation of catch and monitors the legality of production)Boris Dudarev told Life that the Chukchi annually hunt about 1,000 heads of various marine mammals: walruses, whales, seals, seals, bearded seals, lionfish (striped seal), etc.
- Seal fishing is quite popular. But few people live on the coast. Therefore, the fishery cannot be called massive. It is conducted by both individuals and legal entities. But basically, the beast is hunted by the indigenous people in family-clan communities.
The Chukchi need a seal not only for meat, but also for skins. They hand them over to the state or sew clothes.If the Russians like pinniped meat products, it will spur the development of industrial capture of sea animals in the country.
As told to Life, Acting Minister of Agriculture of the Magadan Region Nikolai Koshelenko, in order to stimulate the extraction of seals, it was decided to remove it from the list of objects for which TAC norms (total allowable catch) are established. The rates of fees were also reduced: from 200 - 300 rubles. for one seal different types up to 10 rubles. per ton. In other words, the duty has become purely symbolic. In the "Fishing Rules", the maximum possible duration of the permitted periods for the capture of seals were established. That is, all obstacles to providing enterprises with free access to the raw material base were removed.
The restoration of the hunting fleet is seriously hampered by the lack of quotas for the mass commercial fish species - herring and pollock. Without additional quotas, it is impossible to optimize the use of vessels throughout the year: vessels will be engaged in fishing for sea animals only 2 - 3 months a year. Enterprises engaged in trawling fish are also not interested in the seal fishery. It is much less profitable for them.
After all, the real cost of a large-capacity fishing and hunting vessel (SAM) of a reinforced ice class, taking into account the costs of putting it into operation, will be at least 3 billion rubles. The costs for a medium-tonnage air defense missile system can be at least 1 billion rubles. But these are the ships that are needed for the "seal" trade. The existing enterprises do not have the opportunity to attract neither their own nor credit funds in such volumes for the construction of ships.
Battle for the markets
Few argue that seal meat is very healthy. The research institutes believe that pThe selection of ingredients and their ratio will make it possible to obtain a high quality sausage in terms of organoleptic characteristics and, at the same time, balanced in terms of fatty acid and amino acid compositions.
- The meat of pinnipeds, in contrast to the meat of cattle, has large fibers, a darker color and a developed system of thick connecting films. The meat acquires a dark red color due to the high content in the muscles of the water-soluble protein myoglobin, which stains the muscles red. In terms of amino acid composition, this protein is complete. Seal muscles are entirely composed of protein, which contains 9 essential amino acids: leucine, isoleucine, valine, methionine, cystine, lysine, threonine, phenylalanine and tyrosine, the total amount of which is 42.1 g / 100 g of protein, the inventors said.
Interestingly, seal sausage is not the first VNIRO project related to pinnipeds. In 2012, together with the Magadan enterprise Okeanekobioproduct LLC, they developed and patented the drug Tyulenol. It was created on the basis of seal oil and is an omega-3 analogue.
This development was made for the markets of Japan and China. Marketers advise the producers of the seal sausage to "aim" there too. Moreover, there, as a rule, there is a strong demand for all sorts of curiosities.
“If we are talking about the Far East, it would be more logical to aim at the Chinese market,” says Igor Berezin, president of the Russian Guild of Marketers. - From Chukotka to China 2 thousand km, and to Moscow 10 thousand. Let's say, sell under the brand name of the Far Eastern ham. The next promotion story is fashion for national cuisines... They should try to work with similar restaurateurs. Good way to promote the new sausage at various mass events, city days, festivals, etc., when consumers are treated to a new product. Another important point is that the seal sausage should not be more expensive than tuna. In this case, they will not take it ...
In addition to thinking about export, you need to think about your consumer. In addition, this will help the revival of the marine mammal hunting, the problems of which were discussed above. The fact is that the local population of the regions where pinnipeds are mined will provide, if not massive, but stable demand for products. After that, it will be easier to ramp up production and enter new markets.
“If the meat is used for sale to the population, then, in principle, there is a chance that business and fishing companies will be interested in fishing,” said Boltnev from VNIRO. - The cost of meat will approximately cover the cost of fishing. But so far, apart from the indigenous small-numbered peoples of the North, food with sea animal meat does not really find a buyer.
I agree with this point of view andActing Minister of Agriculture of the Magadan Region Nikolai Koshelenko:
- The most realistic direction for the revival of the marine mammal hunting can be determined by coastal and coastal seal hunting. To stimulate it, only sales markets are required. When a stable level for the extraction of seals is reached, the issue of coastal factories for the processing of leather, fur raw materials and other commercial products can be considered.
Previously, the development of technologies for the processing of raw materials for the marine animal hunting were the Novosibirsk CJSC "Siberian Center of Pharmacology and Biotechnology" and OJSC "Giprorybflot" (St. Petersburg).
It was in OJSC "Giprorybflot" that work was carried out to obtain a patent and release an experimental batch of products from meat and by-products of seals, which were presented at a presentation in Magadan.
