Flake Ice for the Fishing Industry

Ice is the universal coolant in the fishing industry. However, not all ice is created equal and the type of ice you use could significantly damage your catch and reduce profits. Flake ice for fish cooling is the ideal choice to prevent fish and seafood from spoiling because of its uniform cooling. It is especially important on fishing vessels when the catch is made. In recent years, fishermen have needed to make longer fishing trips in order to decrease near-shore fishing and depleting these resources. Longer fishing trips means a longer time before the fish can be properly processed. As such, the need for on-board flake ice machines that produce flake ice for seaboard cooling which help keep fish cold for longer periods of time, is critical to preserving your catch and reaping more profits.

Preserving Your Catch with Flake Ice

When a fish is caught, it begins to decompose, and the spoilage process begins. The spoilage process depends heavily on temperatures. In fact, no other factor influences the freshness of seafood as strongly as temperature. Higher temperatures accelerate the process, while lower temperatures can significantly slow down the process. Fish needs to be kept at temperatures of about 0°C. Even a slight increase in temperature to 4°C can double the spoilage rate of your seafood. As such, the colder the ice – the longer your fish will last making Howe flake ice for fish cooling the preferred flake ice for seaboard storage.

Modern advances in refrigeration have resulted in lightweight flake ice machines that can be installed on virtually any fishing vessel. This gives fisherman greater control over where they fish and for how long they fish. Their trip length is no longer limited by the quantity of ice they’ve loaded in port or how long the ice will hold their catch. With a Howe Corporation shipboard flake ice machine, no matter when you dock, your catch will be just as fresh as the day you caught it.

The Seafood Industry Turns to Flake Ice

Flake ice is used at virtually every step of the seafood supply chain and is superior to traditional cubed or crushed ice in numerous ways. Flake ice for fish cooling offers quicker cooling, with more surface area to provide uniform cooling, which perfectly preserves seafood products. It is also softer and has no sharp edges, so it is less likely to bruise or injure the fish during storage.

From the fishing boats with Howe ice flakers producing flake ice for seaboard storage throughout the trip, to the processing plant, from the storage facility to the seafood department of your local grocery store, flake ice is there every step of the way. During the processing and transportation process, seafood must be handled and preserved properly. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United States has very specific guidelines for handling raw seafood to ensure their safety. One of these guidelines is to avoid the accumulation of unchilled fish at any time by ensuring a continuous flow in the handling of the seafood from the processing plant to the storage facility and finally to your local grocer or fishmonger. Processing plants and transportation companies rely on land-based flake ice machines to fill their ice needs every step of the way.

Why Choose Howe Ice Flakers?

At Howe Corporation, our flake ice machines produce from 1,000 to over 20,000 pounds of 100% ice hardness every single day. And harder ice results in longer-lasting ice. How do we do it? Our flakers wipe off excess water which allows for 100% ice hardness with no unfrozen water. This means you get the most energy efficient flaker in the industry and the coldest, longest lasting ice on the market. In fact, our flake ice outlasts our competitor’s ice by 2-3x.

At Howe Corporation, we are committed to helping the commercial seafood industry keep their products cold, fresh, and ready for the consumer - from the ocean to the table. Our flake ice machines are the best in the industry and are designed to keep seafood colder longer, meaning more profits and less waste for our clients. For any questions regarding commercial ice flakers or any of our products, please contact us.

We also invite you to continue to follow Howe Corp. on our blog, Twitter, and LinkedIn for show updates, industry updates, company and technology updates, and more! Contact Howe today!