There are many ways to eat fish, and grinding it up whole does not sound particularly appealing. But gefilte fish, which is, in essence, a whole ground fish, is one of the traditional foods served during Passover, which starts at sundown Wednesday, April 5. Long before I developed my deep fondness for all things fishy, I remember trying it at a friend’s house during the holiday week and vowing never to do that again. Later came my love of tiny, oily fish like sardines and anchovies, which are commonly eaten bones and all, and thus, now I am less resistant to the idea of giving this dish another try.

While gefilte fish is a specialty and has particular religious tradition and significance, the reality is that most people prefer fish without bones. This, however, is not easy to achieve. Even master fish cutters are often unable to get all of the “meat” off the bones of a fish. This is more challenging for some types of fish than others. “Meatier” fish like halibut or monkfish have a lot to harvest from their bones, making it easier to get more yield from each fish. In addition, the bones are thicker and stronger than some of other fish types, so they are easier to cut around without getting bones in the filet. Fileting fish is certainly an art and depends on the tools, product freshness and skill of the fish cutter. Regardless, there are many parts of the fish leftover after the fileting process.

One of the easiest-to-use leftovers are chowder chunks. These are meaty bits that can be used for chowders or fish pies or any number of other dishes like a curry or even breaded and baked into small nuggets. But that’s not all: There is the “rack,” which is the body of the fish leftover after it has been fileted. Similar to what you might do with a pile of leftover chicken bones, you can also take a fish rack and boil it to make a broth. You can do this with its head on, or you can take off the head and roast it or grill it, as it often has lots of delicious fishy flesh on it. Fish collars have also gotten a lot of attention — this is the area just underneath the head at the top of where you would filet the fish. There are myriad parts of fish that are undiscovered and can be used to make a great meal. Australian chef Josh Niland’s book, “Take One Fish: The New School of Scale-to-Tail Cooking and Eating,” provides ample instruction and information on how to find a use for every part of a fish.

But what if you take a step back and think about a different way to prepare a fish for consumption? I recently had the chance to take a field trip up to the University of Maine at Orono’s Food Pilot Plant to see some of the amazing processing and preparation equipment they have there. One of the projects they have been working on is how to utilize green crabs, an invasive species that has wreaked havoc on Maine’s soft-shell clam and eelgrass populations. With the help of a deboning machine, they can separate the not-so-meaty crabs from their meat, resulting in a pile of shells and a pile of meat. This is being used to test out a “fish sauce” made from the green crab material. This machine potentially has other applications for other types of the smaller flatfish that are landed in Maine and do not yield a lot of filet when cut. In addition, the food lab also has all kinds of machines that spin, emulsify, chop — you name it — to take the extracted protein material and form it into something delicious and nutritious. Think fish cake, sausage or even fish noodle.

These potential seafood products would be a little different than traditional gefilte fish, which is typically made from whitefish, carp or pike that are poached and then ground. Historically, this fish mince was stuffed into the skin of a whole fish and then roasted — hence the origin of the name of the dish, “gefilte,” which means “stuffed” in Yiddish. Now, it is more often formed into fish patties or quenelles.

I’m not sure whether or not I’m ready to retry gefilte fish, but it serves as a good source of inspiration for new ways to utilize more seafood through novel processing and preparation techniques. And also a good model of a tradition that does not waste a whole good fish.

Susan Olcott is the director of operations at Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association.