It is no fishy business to say that from the moment a fish is harvested to the time it lands on your plate, about 30 per cent of it would have been lost as waste. With today's affluence and preference for the convenience of a fish fillet, this proportion can sometimes double.
"A filleted fish is easier to store and freeze if you do not plan to eat it on the same day. It is easier and faster to prepare, as well as easier and faster to eat, since there is no need to worry about bones. Today's consumers want this convenience," says Mr Malcolm Ong, chief executive of fishery company The Fish Farmer.
Mr Ong, 57, started to work last year with Hai Sia Seafood, one of the largest seafood processors in Singapore, to have the grey mullet, one of the species he farms off the coast of Lim Chu Kang, processed into fillets and sold at supermarkets such as FairPrice.
According to The Fish Farmer's website, grey mullet is an oil-rich fish that is high in omega-3 fatty acids and vitamins. Its meat is of a medium to firm texture and has a rich, distinctive flavour.
The fish can be prepared in many ways - including steaming, grilling and pan-frying - and is a favourite among Teochews.
For Mr Ong, it makes business sense to send 3,000kg of mullet a day to Hai Sia Seafood to be filleted, but it worried him to see the offcuts, comprising the head, bones, trimmings and the rest of the meat, being thrown away.
"The fillet is just meat. It makes up only 40 per cent of the entire fish. So the rest of the fish - 60 per cent - would have been thrown away. These are perfectly good parts of the fish," he says.
Food waste is one of the biggest waste streams in Singapore, and the amount of food wastage generated has ballooned by about 20 per cent over the past 10 years.
The National Environment Agency estimates that 40 per cent of food waste generated here is from the commercial and industrial sectors that handle fish, other seafood and vegetables.
Last year alone saw around 744 million kg of food wasted. That is equivalent to two bowls of rice a person a day, or the weight of about 50,000 double-decker buses.
A study by the Singapore Environment Council and consultancy firm Deloitte Singapore last year found that the fish and seafood sector contributed the second-largest volume of food loss, at about 25,000 tonnes a year.