INNOVATIVE PREDICTOR FOR OFF-FLAVORS IN CATFISH

CATFISH FARMING SUFFERS OFF-FLAVOR LOSSES OF $10M TO $20 M ANNUALLY. KTAADN, IND., (KI) PROPOSES INVESTIGATING EMPIRICAL CORRELATIONS BETWEEN "PREDISPOSING" ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS AND OFF-FLAVORS. IN PHASE 1, KI WILL ANALYZE THESE FACTORS USING NEURAL NETWORK (NN) PREDICTORS DEVELOPED BY KI UNDER A US AIR FORCE GRANT FOR PREDICTING LIGHTNING STRIKES. PHASE I WILL SHOW THE FEASIBILITY OF A NN PROCESSOR FOR RAPID AND ACCURATE ANALYSES OF ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS ON OFF-FLAVORS. REVIEW OF OFF-FLAVOR MEASUREMENTS FROM SEVERAL RESEARCH GROUPS RECOMMENDS THE USE IN PHASE I OF WEEKLY DATA FROM THE TISHOMINGO NATIONAL FISH HATCHERY (TNFH). PHASE II WILL FOCUS ON EXTENDING THE PHASE I RESULTS USING THOSE DATA FOUND TO BE THE BEST FOR PREDICTING OFF-FLAVORS. THESE DATA WILL TRAIN AN IMPROVED OFF-FLAVORS NN PROCESSOR THAT WILL BE QUANTITATIVELY SCORED FOR OFF-FLAVOR CORRELATIONS. PHASE III WILL PRODUCE A PROTOTYPE COMMERCIAL "OFF-FLAVORS PREDICATOR" THAT CAN BE UPGRADED, AS NEW DATA ARE COLLECTED, BY FISH FARMERS WITHOUT SPECIAL COMPUTER SKILLS.