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Abstract
The Georgia seafood industry is currently one of the smallest and most often overlooked in the U.S. What used to be a thriving industry has been steadily declining due to cheaper importation of foreign seafood, continued trade-wars, and the rising costs of fuel and labor. This has caused a majority of the generational fishermen in the state to close up docks; however, the story of Georgia seafood is not finished. Coastal Georgia has something that no other state in the union possesses, a uniquely exotic and abundant natural resource: cannonball jellyfish (CBJ). An emerging fishery that began in the mid-1990s and peaked in the 2010s got its start by selling salted jellyfish to China. Unfortunately, a marked decline in this industry due to increased competition from Mexico and the aforementioned problems presents an opportunity for this research to address a crucial issue for the state: how can we create domestic demand for Georgia CBJ and save the struggling jellyfish industry? Through our research efforts, we have found that this non-venomous and completely edible jellyfish species is a rich source of high-quality marine collagen. Through feasibility and process optimization studies, this collagen has been successfully processed into various products, depending on the processing conditions utilized, such as native jellyfish collagen, jellyfish gelatin with gelling properties, and jellyfish collagen peptide powders. This research has successfully monitored the degree of protein hydrolysis, assessed the physicochemical and functional properties of the various jellyfish collagen-based products produced, and found unique attributes that will make Georgia jellyfish collagen one of the world’s premier collagen products. The purpose of this research has been to diversify the portfolio of products produced by the Georgia jellyfish industry, which will increase economic development opportunities for rural, coastal communities in the state. Pioneering research and innovation into utilizing Blue Foods, like CBJ, in ways other than simple consumption may be the answer to modernize Georgia’s seafood industry for a new era.