Protein, oil, moisture and ash contents (proximate composition), are traditionally used as indicators of the nutritional value of fish [1]. Although a quite voluminous literature on the proximate composition of the world’s food fish exists [2], the data contain little useful information for New Zealand processors and users. Fish caught in this country are either different in species or belong to different populations [3], and the information is usually limited to the edible flesh. This report deals with the proximate composition of 62 marine finfish and 16 shellfish species from the New Zealand fishing area. Size, sex and catch data of each species are included. The proximate composition of the head, viscera, frame, skin and flesh (fillet) of the individual finfish was determined and the composition of the whole fish was calculated from the composition and weight of its component parts. The proportion of the proximate composition of the whole fish found in the 5 body parts was determined.
The proximate composition of crustaceans and shellfish is based on whole specimens, or on the edible parts and offal, depending on the species.
The calculated energy values of the edible part of all species are given, as are the formulae for the statistical relationship of the oil and moisture contents of the flesh of 3 mackerel and 3 tuna species. All marine species were caught or gathered in the New Zealand Exclusive Economic Zone and comprise most of the commercial and many lesser known species from the deep water by-catch.
A more extensive presentation of the proximate composition of most commercial finfish species and squid in this study is found in earlier reports [4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12].
Detailed nutritive information on the edible part of some of the New Zealand fish species has been published [14,15,16], and any differences between results in these papers and the data in this report can be due to seasonal or geographical variations, or differences in size or fertility cycle of the samples [1].
Earlier reports on the composition of species not listed here include New Zealand eels [17,18] and whitebait [19].
The data were compiled as a resource reference for health professionals, food technologists, processors, plant designers and manufacturers of fish meal and fish oil. They are part of the DSIR Biotechnology Division’s programme of evaluation of New Zealand marine and freshwater fish species.
