From Shells to Solutions

The wastes from the shellfish processing industry around the world offer the much-needed supply to meet the demand for chitin and chitosan for industrial applications. The amount of chitin in shellfish ranges from 30-60% in oyster (Albaraoye et al., 2018; Handayani et al., 2018), 69% in crab shell waste (Albaraoye et al., 2018), 23-35% in mussel (Abdulkarim et al., 2013; Danarto and Distantina, 2016; Albaraoye et al., 2018), and 40% in prawn shells (Albaraoye et al., 2018), w

Crustaceans and mollusks are the second and third most traded aquatic animal products, with the majority of their supply coming from aquaculture production. In 2022, global production of farmed crustaceans and mollusks reached 1.6 million and 1 million tons, respectively. Consumption of finfish has decreased worldwide, while a shift in favour of shellfish such as mollusks and crustaceans has been observed. Shellfish accounted for 26 percent of animal food consumption in 2021,