Isinglass place of Russian isinglass. The bladders, once removed from the fish, processed, and dried, are formed into various shapes for use. Before the inexpensive production of gelatin and other competing products, isinglass was used in confectionery and desserts such as fruit jelly and "blancmange". Isinglass finings are widely used as a processing aid in the British brewing industry to accelerate the fining, or clarification, of beer. It is used particularly in the production of cask-conditioned beers, although a few cask ales are available which are not fined using isinglass. The finings flocculate the live yeast in the beer into a
Swim bladder much as 65% of all deep sea fish biomass. Indeed, lanternfish are among the most widely distributed, populous, and diverse of all vertebrates, playing an important ecological role as prey for larger organisms. The estimated global biomass of lanternfish is 550–660 million metric tonnes, several times the entire world fisheries catch. Lanternfish also account for much of the biomass responsible for the deep scattering layer of the world's oceans. Sonar reflects off the millions of lanternfish swim bladders, giving the appearance of a false bottom. In some Asian cultures, the swim bladders of certain large fishes are considered a food