Fish Skin Leathers

The College of Fisheries, Mangaluru, in collaboration with several research institutes across India, has developed a sustainable method to convert discarded fish skin into chrome-free, eco-friendly leather, offering a novel solution to a long-standing waste problem in the fish industry. Large quantities of fish skin were collected from various species, processed, and transformed into high-quality leather.

Beyond its value as a raw material for leather, fish skin is also a rich source of type I collagen, which the team successfully extracted, purified, and converted into powder. Collagen plays a critical role in skin, contributing durability, flexibility, and mechanical strength, making it a valuable component for both biomedical and cosmetic applications.

“Sustainable utilisation of the fish skin waste for the production of chrome-free leather is an eco-friendly alternative to the old leather-making methods, which often involve use of harmful chemicals. This not only reduces environmental impact but also adds value to a material that would otherwise be wasted,” said Dr B Manjanaik, Professor and Head of Department of Fish Processing Technology, College of Fisheries.

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