Production and refining of marine oils

Seal blubber tends to be pure homogeneous fat and like the fish liver oils can be rendered quite simply. Whale blubber on the other hand contains tough connective tissue and fibres and is now rendered in rotating Kvaerner cookers under high pressure steam. As recently as 1955, world production figures (xlOOO metric tons) for marine oils were whale, 378 sperm, 91 seal, 6.5 fish body, 310 aquatic animal liver, 73 (presumably including whale liver oils as a source of vitamins A and D). By 1989 the figures (xlOOO) were marine mammal oil production, 1 fish liver oil, 32 fish oils, 1593 (Bimbo and Crowther, 1992). 

Means of three determinations. Data within colunm bearing different superscripts differ significantly at p 0.05. Difference between Gulf and Atlantic menhaden oils was not determined. 

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