Kasim Lawal Ibrahim, Akeem Babatunde Dauda
This study was carried out with the aim of evaluating the proximate and mineral compositions of some frozen marine fish species; Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus, Linnaeus, 1758), Atlantic mackerel (Scomber scombrus, Linnaeus, 1758) and Atlantic horse mackerel (Trachurus trachurus, Linnaeus, 1758) sold in selected local government areas of Kano State, Nigeria. A total of 81 samples comprising of 27 C. harengus, 27 S. scombrus and 27 T. trachurus were sampled/purchased from the three sampling areas (Bichi, Dambatta and Gwarzo. The sampling was done on weekly basis for a period of three weeks in March, 2022. Each week 3 samples of each fish species were collected from one major cold room/fish seller of each selected local government area/sampling station. The samples were analyzed using method of Association of Official Analytical Chemists (AOAC, 2016) for proximate and mineral compositions. Results indicated that the highest crude protein content 21.51% was recorded in T. trachurus from Dambatta station, and moderate 18.04% was recorded in S. scombrus from Gwarzo station, while the least 15.28% was recorded in C. harengus from Bichi station respectively. In this study all the proximate composition parameters were affected by the species but not the collection station except carbohydrate. The mineral content composition showed that C. harengus recorded the highest Sodium content 1.69 mg/kg from Bichi Station, while S. scombrus had the least 0.38 mg/kg from Dambatta station. S. scombrus had the highest calcium content 1.24 mg/kg from Dambatta station, while C. harengus recorded the least 0.12 mg/kg) also from Bichi station. In this study all the minerals’ parameters were affected by the species but not the collection station. The study recommends T. trachurus as the best for human consumption due to its h igher protein compositions, compared to S. scombrus and C. harengus. However, the study showed that proximate and m ineral compositions of these fish species studied are within the acceptable level and safety limits which cause no harm to human, therefore, they are healthy for human consumption.