Fish Filleting Machine Manufacturers
Connect with verified fish filleting machine manufacturers on Towobo. Source automatic fish filleting machines, pin-bone removal equipment, and industrial fish cutting lines for salmon, cod, tilapia, herring, and other commercial species.
Automatic fish filleting machines
A fish filleting machine removes the fillet (the boneless or near-boneless lateral muscle mass) from the headed-and-gutted round fish, leaving the backbone and ribcage behind as waste (frames). Automatic filleting machines use a combination of circular saw blades, flexible blades, and guide mechanisms to follow the spine and rib contour of the fish, separating the fillet from the bones with minimal flesh loss. The filleting yield (fillet weight as a percentage of the headed-and-gutted fish weight) is the key economic parameter — higher-yield machines leave less flesh on the bone and reduce raw material waste. Filleting yield varies by fish species, size consistency, and the adjustment precision of the machine for the fish size and species. Following filleting, pin-bone removal (the small intramuscular bones called pin bones in round fish — salmon, cod, hake) is required for boneless fillet products: pin-bone removal machines use rotating or oscillating rollers with fine pins to grip and pull the pin bones from the fillet.
Frequently asked questions
What filleting yield should I expect from an automatic filleting machine?
Filleting yield is highly species-specific and also depends on fish size consistency, input fish condition, and the quality of machine setup and adjustment. As a guide (these are indicative benchmarks, not guarantees — validate with supplier trials on your specific fish): Atlantic salmon 4–6 kg — H&G (headed and gutted) to skin-on fillet yield approximately 70–76%; Atlantic cod — H&G to skin-on fillet yield approximately 55–62%; tilapia — approximately 32–38% of whole fish. Machine filleting yield is typically 1–3% lower than skilled manual filleting on the same fish, but the throughput is far higher. Ask suppliers for filleting yield data from trials on your specific species and size range — do not accept generalised yield claims without species- and size-specific supporting data.
What are pin bones and do I need a separate pin-bone remover?
Pin bones are small intramuscular bones found in round fish species (salmon, cod, hake, pollock, and others) that extend from the backbone into the fillet in a row running approximately one-third of the length of the fillet. In whole round fish, these bones provide structural support to the muscle; in a fillet, they remain embedded in the flesh after filleting and must be removed to produce a genuinely boneless fillet product. Pin-bone removal machines use counter-rotating roller pairs with stainless pins that grip and withdraw pin bones from the fillet as it passes through. Pin-bone removal is not complete on every fish — residual bone detection (finger detection by QC operatives or X-ray inspection) is standard in premium fillet production. For retail skinless boneless fillets (premium supermarket product), automatic pin-boning followed by X-ray inspection is typically the baseline.