CAPES; CNPq / O consumo de pescado no Brasil está abaixo da média mundial e isso se deve a fatores econômicos, culturais e também à baixa disponibilidade desse alimento. Para estimular o consumo, devido ao alto valor nutricional desse tipo de carne, uma das estratégias é transformar o pescado em um produto prático, como o hambúrguer. Entretanto, em decorrência do pH próximo a neutralidade e da alta atividade de água, o pescado e seus derivados possuem uma vida útil limitada, dependendo das condições de armazenamento. Um dos parâmetros mais questionáveis da estabilidade desse produto é a oxidação lipídica, reação que ocorre até mesmo em baixas temperaturas. Sabe-se que a qualidade sensorial de um produto é fundamental para o consumidor na hora da compra e do consumo. Uma vez que o acompanhamento sensorial da vida útil leva tempo e considerável investimento, a Espectroscopia de Infravermelho Próximo (NIR) entra como técnica instrumental rápida, não destrutiva e recente, para o mesmo fim, a qual consegue analisar vários parâmetros da amostra ao mesmo tempo. Nesse sentido, o objetivo deste trabalho foi estimar a vida útil de hambúrgueres de Carpa capim por meio de análise de sobrevivência e cut-off point, além da utilização do NIR para construção de modelos de predição de vida útil pelo método dos mínimos quadrados parciais (PLS).O hambúrguer foi elaborado com filés de Carpa capim moídos e lavados (lavagem básica), embalados a vácuo e armazenados sob refrigeração durante 30 dias. Uma equipe sensorial foi selecionada e treinada para avaliar o ranço nas amostras de hambúrguer por meio de análise discriminativa triangular, análise estatística de variância (ANOVA), gráfico de valor F e box plots. A avaliação físico-química da matéria-prima mostrou adequação com a legislação vigente para frescor (pH e bases voláteis totais N-BVT); apresentou baixo teor de lipídios e alto conteúdo proteico. A caracterização do produto verificou que o hambúrguer de Carpa capim está de acordo com a legislação quanto ao teor de lipídios e proteína, com valor semelhante ao dos filés para o valor calórico. As análises de referência para o NIR apontaram que o Índice de iodo e a atividade de água (Aw) não foram capazes de diferenciar os hambúrgueres durante o armazenamento; já as Substâncias Reativas do Ácido Tiobarbitúrico (TBARS) e o pH apresentaram resultados que corroboram as mudanças ocorridas na matriz hambúrguer. A rancidez foi observada pela equipe sensorial treinada e também verificada pela análise de TBARS, as quais tiveram crescimento exponencial, com coeficientes de correlação superiores a 0,95. Modelos robustos por meio do PLS foram obtidos com o NIR para os parâmetros ranço, TBARS e pH, resultado que não se repetiu para o Índice de iodo, Aw e cor. A análise de sobrevivência determinou o final da vida útil do hambúrguer de Carpa Capim em 17 dias, já para o cut-off point apontou 15 dias. Ambas as metodologias mostraram-se eficientes para estimativa da vida útil do produto analisado, ao contrário do NIR que subestimou a data da vida útil, gerando diferenças de 56 a 76% e não se mostrou eficiente para a estimativa considerando os valores preditos pelo modelo gerado para o defeito ranço. / The fish consumption in Brazil is below the world average and this is due to economic, cultural factors and also to the low availability of this food. To stimulate consumption, due to the high nutritional value of this type of meat, one of the strategies is to turn the fish into a convenient product, such as hamburger. However, due to the pH close to neutrality and the high water activity, fish and fish products have a limited shelf life, depending on storage conditions. One of the questionable parameters about the stability of this product is the lipid oxidation reaction, which occurs even at low temperatures. It is known that the sensory quality of a product is critical to the consumer at the moment of acquisition and consumption. Once the sensory monitoring of the shelf life takes time and considerable investment, the Near Infrared spectroscopy (NIR) comes as a fast instrumental technique, nondestructive and recent, with the same purpose, which can access multiple parameters from the sample at the same time. Thus, the objective of this study was to estimate the shelf life of grass carp burgers through survival analysis and cut-off point, in addition to the use of NIR to build shelf life prediction models by the Partial Least Squares (PLS) method. The burger was made with grass carp fillets ground and washed (basic washing), vacuum packed and stored under refrigeration for 30 days. A sensory panel was selected and trained to evaluate rancidity in hamburger samples by means of triangular discriminative analysis, variance statistical analysis (ANOVA), F value chart and box plots. The physical-chemical evaluation of raw materials showed adequacy with current legislation for freshness (pH and total volatile bases TVB-N); presented low lipid content and high protein content. The characterization of the product verified that the burger complies with the legislation on the lipid and protein content, with a caloric value similar to the fillets. The reference analyzes for NIR pointed out that the iodine index and water activity (Aw) were not able to differentiate the burgers during storage; the Thiobarbituric Acid Reactive Substances (TBARS) and the pH presented results corroborating the changes in the burger matrix. The rancidity was observed by the trained sensory panel and also verified by TBARS analysis, where both had exponential growth, with correlation coefficients greater than 0.95. Robust models were obtained through PLS using the NIR to rancidity, TBARS and pH parameters, a result not repeated for iodine index, Aw and color. Survival analysis determined the end of shelf life of grass carp grass burger in 17 days and the cut-off point in 15 days. Both methods were effective to estimate the shelf life of the product, unlike the NIR that underestimated the end date, generating differences ranging from 56 to 76%, not efficient for this estimative, considering the values predicted by the model generated for the defect rancidity.

Bangweulu Wetlands is a 6000 km² public-private-partnership conservation area in northeastern Zambia, lying on the south-eastern margins of the Bangweulu Swamps, Congo River system. The area is important for wildlife conservation, tourism and as a fishing ground for the local inhabitants. This study provides a baseline of the fish and fisheries of this area. The conservation area is situated on the transition zone between woodland, floodplain and swamp. A total of 42 fish species representing 12 taxonomic families were collected. The fish fauna of the area was characterised by a diversity of small cyprinids (14 species), cichlids (9 species), clariid catfishes (4 species) and mormyrids (4 species). Species such as Clarias gariepinus, C. ngamensis, Marcusenius macrolepidotus, Tilapia rendali, T. sparrmanii and several small Barbus species were shared with adjacent floodplain systems such as the upper Zambezi and Kafue rivers. Fishing was undertaken by fishing groups consisting of a fisherman and his family, or a group of men fishing together. Access to the fishing grounds was controlled by traditional fishing leaders, who collected tribute from fishermen. Fishing groups utilised fixed, distinct fishing areas determined by ancestry. The most important time for fishing was during the drawdown phase of the floodplains, from March until June. During the dry season fewer groups were engaged in fishing, with many having returned to farming activities. The main fishing methods of the floodplain fishery were basket traps and mosquito-mesh funnel nets set into earth fish barriers (fish weirs) constructed on the plains, various mesh sizes of gillnets, hook longlines and seine nets. The use of fish spears, drag baskets and piscicides was of lesser importance. Most fishing gears were constructed of a variety of natural and modern, manufactured materials. The fishery was multi-species and 23 fish species were recorded from in catch. The three most important species in the catches were C. gariepinus, T. rendalli and M. macrolepidotus. Together these contributed 67% by weight to the catch. Catch-per-unit-effort (CPUE) for the different gears was 0.4 ± 0.3 kg.trap.night⁻¹ for basket traps, 2.7 ± 4.6 kg.net.night⁻¹ for funnel nets, 0.3 ± 0.5 kg.50 m net.night⁻¹ for gill nets, 3.5 ± 6.3 kg.100 hooks.night⁻¹ for longlines, 1.79 ± 1.11 kg.haul⁻¹ for mosquito-mesh seine nets and 6.87 ± 6.27 kg.haul⁻¹ for larger-mesh seine nets. The weight of average daily landings of fishing groups, using a variety of gears was 7.8 ± 7.4 kg. Fishermen were able to maintain the same catch rate between dry and wet seasons, with no significant differences (p < 0.05) in daily landings between seasons. Yield per fisherman for a seven month season, which required 2-3 relocations due to falling water level, was 1.64 t based on catch assessment, and 1.9 t from a socio-economic survey. A tentative yield per area estimate for the area was 2I7 kg.ha⁻¹ over the three month shallow-floodplain fishing season. Most fish landed in the fishery were processed into sundried or smoke-dried products. These were used for 1) home consumption, 2) trade with village farmers (from up to 70 km inland of the fishing grounds) in exchange for staple starch meal, and 3) sold to urban fish traders, reaching markets as distant as Lubumbashi in Democratic Republic of Congo. Fish traders toured fishing camps to buy fish, supporting auxiliary industries such as transport and accommodation services. The price for dried fish at source was 3.14 ± 1.34 USDlkg and the market price reported for the Zambian Copperbelt was 6.14 ± 2.54 USD/kg. Typical returns on investment in fish trading were estimated as 68-77%. The fishery was considered to be biologically and socially sustainable. By harvesting a seasonally transient assemblage of species with high productivity and biological turnover rates and with life histories adapted to high mortality, fishermen were able to maintain a stable and viable livelihood. Management recommendations for the area were that a fisheries management plan be developed that would seek to strengthen the traditional system of rights-allocation, address problems between fishing and tourism activities, and enhance communication between fisheries and conservation stakeholders. To do this it was recommended that: 1) conservation authorities recognise the importance of the fishery, 2) no changes to current effort levels and fishing methods were necessary, 3) points 1 and 2 above be used to improve communication and trust between conservation authorities and fishermen, 4) customary resource-access mechanisms be understood and strengthened so that local inhabitants' rights to the resource are protected, 5) fishermen help formulate and accept conservation and tourism rules, 6) tourists and guides be made aware of the function of the fishery, 7) a fisheries management forum of key community, government and conservation stakeholders be formed to shape and implement the fisheries management plan, 8) locally-adapted bylaws be created to legitimise crucial floodplain gears currently considered illegal (e.g. mosquito-net gears, fish weirs), 9) no intervention to formalise fish trading be made, and 10) a trained person with a fisheries background be hired oversee the implementation of the recommendations.

Background: Neonates born with low birth weight or preterm are at an increased risk of long-term adverse health outcomes. Research studies on the association of fish consumption during pregnancy and birth outcomes, have led to inconsistent conclusions. Maternal dietary intakes during pregnancy have a significant impact on foetal development and growth. The aim of this project is to determine levels of maternal fish intake at <18 weeks during pregnancy and to determine the association with birth outcomes in pregnant women from Johannesburg, South Africa. Methods: This Master‘s study is nested in a larger study with a longitudinal observational research design was conducted on 250 pregnant women in Johannesburg, South Africa. For this Master‘s study, data from the first 102 participants were used. Data for this study were collected early in pregnancy (<18 week‘s gestation) and at birth. The birth data were collected by the study mid-wife. Maternal fish consumption during early pregnancy was measured using a Quantitative Food Frequency Questionnaire (QFFQ). Correlation analysis was used to examine the association between maternal fish consumption during early pregnancy and neonatal anthropometry (birth weight, crown heel length and head circumference) and gestational age at birth. Results: Majority (88.1%) of the mothers were black South Africans between the ages of 18 and 39 with a mean age of 28 ± 5 years. At enrolment, the mean BMI of the women was 27.8±5.8kg/m2 having a mean height of 158.8±6.7cm and a mean weight of 70.4±15.2kg. Most of them were unmarried (45.4%), living in households of 2 – 5 members (86.3%), wage-earning (44.6%) and had Grade 11 or 12 schooling (58.4%). Most (76.5%) of the pregnant women consumed fish rarely (once a month) and the overall median fish intake was 4.8g/day (0; 25). In the study sample 12.5% of new-borns had a low birth weight (<2500g), the percentages of preterm births were 1.0% - extremely preterm (<28 weeks), 2.0% - very preterm (28 – <32 weeks) and 10.0% - moderate to late preterm (32 – 37 weeks). The mean birth weight was 2999.2±624.4g with boys having a mean birth weight of 3157.3±571g and girls at 2819±671g. The new-borns‘ mean gestational age at birth was 38.8±2.4weeks (271.6days). The percentage of new-born head circumference ≤ 31.49cm was 9.2% and the mean head circumference was 34.3±3.6cm with the boys having a mean head circumference of 34.5±2.4cm and the girls 34.1±4.3cm. In this study sample, 3.7% of new-borns were born with crown heel length of 31 – 40cm and the mean crown heel length mean was 49.5±4.6cm with the boys having a mean crown heel length of 49.8±4.9cm and the girls having mean crown heel length of 49.3±4.3cm. In this study, there were no statistically significant associations between fish consumption at early pregnancy and birth outcomes such as gestational age at birth (r=0.051; p=0.625), birth weight (r=-0.043; p=0.695) and crown heel length (r=0.008; p=0.943). There was a positive association between maternal fish consumption in early pregnancy and head circumference of the new-born which tended towards statistical significance (r=0.193; p=0.079). Conclusions: In this study of pregnant women living in Johannesburg, a few women consumed fish at early pregnancy compared with women who did not consume fish during pregnancy. We found no statistically significant association in this study between fish consumption at early pregnancy and birth outcomes. / Life and Consumer Sciences / MCS (Consumer Science)