Fish oil recovery from aquatic biomass

A method for recovering fish oil from aquatic biomass under cold conditions, the method comprising the steps of:

• providing an aquatic biomass;
• producing a minced aquatic biomass by mincing the aquatic biomass, providing an aqueous suspension of the minced aquatic biomass by mixing and/or homogenizing the minced aquatic biomass in an aqueous solution,
• adjusting the pH of said aqueous suspension to an extreme high pH of from 9 to 13 or an extreme low pH of 2 to 3.5,
• separating the aqueous suspension into a supernatant comprising a lower density emulsion fraction substantially comprising oil, aqueous solution and emulsified proteins, and a higher density fraction comprising substantially solubilized proteins, and optionally a pellet comprising collagenous components,
• collecting the lower density emulsion fraction,
• separating the lower density emulsion fraction into an oil phase and an aqueous phase, and
• collecting the oil from said oil phase,
• wherein said cold conditions are defined by a temperature of from 0° C. to room temperature without heating;
• wherein the separating of the lower density emulsion fraction comprises:
• freezing the lower density emulsion fraction and subsequently thawing said frozen lower density emulsion fraction, or
• adjusting the pH of the lower density emulsion fraction to about the isoelectric point of the proteins, or a combination thereof,
• followed by centrifugation.