Processing Yields and Proximate Composition of Cultured White Sturgeon ( <i>Acipenser transmontanus</i> )

Abstract

ABSTRACT Cultured white sturgeon, 10–43 months old, were processed into dressed fish, fillets, and steaks. Edible portions from four age classes were analyzed for proximate composition. Round weight yields were: eviscerated, 85–96%; dressed, 53–65%; steaked, 61–74%; skin‐on fillets, 54–61%; and skinless fillets, 32–50%. The proximate composition of the sturgeon averaged 77.3% moisture, 18.2% protein, 3.4% lipid, and 1.2% ash. Protein levels in 10–13‐month‐old fish were significantly lower than in 32–34‐ and 43‐month‐old sturgeon. Lipid levels in 10–13‐month‐old fish, and ash levels in 32–34‐month‐old sturgeon, were significantly higher than in other age classes.