New technique will allow León tanners to take up tonnes of tilapia skins
26/05/2015
Francisco Javier Castro, who is head of Ciatec’s technology transfer department, has drawn comparisons between the appearance of a tanned tilapia skin and that of reptile leathers, saying the scales are similar. He said that if tanners adopt the new technique and make fish leather instead, it will help Mexico protect its reptile species, some of which are endangered.
Ciatec has calculated that the fish industry in three Mexican states alone, Chiapas, Jalisco and Zacatecas, is throwing away 20 tonnes of tilapia skins each month. It said this is enough to supply tanners with a combined total of 1.2 million skins per month, which could supply footwear manufacturers with enough finished leather to produce 54,000 pairs of boots.
The technology centre made its new fish-leather technology part of its display at the May 2015 edition of the ANPIC exhibition in León.
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