Campbell-Platt14 defines fermented foods as foods, which have
been subjected to the action of microorganisms so that desirable
biochemical changes cause significant modification of the food.
In tropical regions the ambient conditions (high temperature,
high humidity) provide ideal conditions for fermentation. Left
alone, most foodstuffs will ferment naturally, some with
desirable end results and others with less desirable and even
poisonous end-products15. In this respect, the traditional
fermentation of fish is qualified as natural or spontaneous
fermentation. According to Gram and Huss16 the fermentation
of fish is brought about by autolytic enzymes from fish and
microorganisms in the presence of salt. Various workers have
reported the use of salt in fresh fish preservation as selective
microbial agent