Sudaya (While sarclinella, Sarclinella albella) is an underutilised small pelagic fish species, caught in large numbers in the south Indian coast, specially in the north-western coast in Sri Lanka. In this research, suitability of this low value Jisli species for commercial oil extraction purposes was evaluated. The seasonal variation of the lipid content and the fatty acid composition was determined by gas chromatography.
The highest amount of lipid, 14.09%, was recorded in November and the lowest, 1.16% was recorded in May. The body lipid content decreased during the spawning season of the fish. The recorded amounts of saturated and monounsatu rated fatty acids were varying between 41-46% (maximum was found in April: 46.1%) and 17-23% (maximum was found in March: 22.7%) respectively. The polyunsaturated fatty acids also recorded higher percentages from 27.2% (in April) to 33.9% (in August)
The highest amount of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, 30.9%, was recorded in August where the lipid content was 5.2%. The lowest amount, 24.9% was recorded in March where the lipid content was 7.9%. In general, Ecosapenaenoic acid(EPA, C20:5 tr.vj andDocosaliexaenoic acid (DHA, C 22:6 w3) contribute nearly 85-90% of the total omega-3 fatty acids. In most cases the recorded amounts of EPA and DHA were nearly equal, but in May, DHA was 18.3% where EPA was 7.3%.