# Freshness and Spoilage Patterns of Wild and Farmed Tropical Fish Species with Major Commercial Importance Originating from Saudi Arabian Waters

## TL;DR

This study compares the freshness and spoilage of wild and farmed tropical fish from Saudi Arabian waters using sensory, chemical, and microbiological methods.

## Contribution

The study introduces Quality Index Method schemes and identifies species-specific spoilage patterns independent of fish origin.

## Key findings

- Farmed fish species had significantly longer shelf lives than wild-caught species.
- ATP breakdown patterns and K-values at sensory rejection varied by species, not by origin.
- Microbial loads reached or exceeded 6 log cfu/g at the time of sensory rejection.

## Abstract

Ice-stored farmed barramundi (Lates calcarifer), snubnose pompano (Trachinotus blochii) and sobaity bream (Sparidentex hasta), as well as wild-caught cobia (Rachycentron canadum), coral trout (Plectropomus leopardus), giant trevally (Caranx ignobilis), milkfish (Chanos chanos) and mangrove red snapper (Lutjanus argentimaculatus), were compared for their freshness/spoilage using sensory, chemical and microbiological methods. Quality Index Method schemes were developed to determine alterations in the sensory freshness. The shelf lives ranged from 8 (coral trout) to 18 days (sobaity bream). The farmed species always exhibited a significantly longer shelf life than the wild-caught species. The adenosine triphosphate (ATP) breakdown followed different patterns in the studied species. The K-values at the time of sensory rejection ranged from 30 to 80% depending on the species, while the microbial load reached or exceeded a level of 6 log cfu/g. Although the shelf life duration was dependent on the origin of the fish (wild or farmed), the ATP breakdown scheme, as well as the K-values and microbial loads at the time of rejection, were species-dependent and independent of the origin.