In all my diving days never felt the need to kill one....but if the extreme need presented itself a....38 PP would do it right fast.
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killing fish quickly
- Thread starterlukasmatysek
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Thread Status: Hello
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In all my diving days never felt the need to kill one....but if the extreme need presented itself a....38 PP would do it right fast.
Yeah don't get me wrong, I wouldn't kill a shark unless it was trying to make lunch of my leg, but one of my dive buddies had to shoot one to prove his manhood. Then we had the task of killing it.
If you've gotta kill a shark (now this doesn't always work but it is a pretty good procedure for at least making them lazy enough to kill easier later). Tail gaff the shark (put a loop at the end of a boat line and attach it around the tail before the tail fin) tie the other end of the line to a cleat on your boat and drag the shark backwards for a while. That's what the sportsfisherman do.
Hey guys,
I know this thread is years old, but it seems to be the one, where we have the most information on dispatching fish, so I will add a bit more to it.
Personally, I brain, bleed and gut fish. From educating myself here on DB and looking at what the fish fanatical Japanese do, it seemed to be a smart way of doing things.
I often spear in Thailand and like so many other places, they don't bleed nor gut there. But I suspect the reason is partly that intestines can be and sometimes are used for fish soups but a bigger part of the explanation is that fish is sold whole by weight.
Lately, I have seen a few anglers say they don't gut because it leaves the fish open to bacteria infections.
Some even don't brain, but just put their whole fish in a cold slurry which I find less than humane.
Anyways, here comes the piece of information I wanted to add to the discussion. Last year, I was on a photo assignment in Japan and one night I was chatting to a local marine biologist in a sushi restaurant. He was from Kinki University which is one of two that are famous for the research into fish farming and his specialty was parasites in fish.
I tell him about how I bleed and gut pretty fast after braining and he says, that is indeed a very good practice. He said that studies have shown that parasites in a fish's gut will migrate into the flesh of the fish in hopes of surviving longer, once their host is dead. He said, this is the reason, sashimi fish are gutted fast.
Being given a more scientific reason to continue what I was already doing felt good
I know this thread is years old, but it seems to be the one, where we have the most information on dispatching fish, so I will add a bit more to it.
Personally, I brain, bleed and gut fish. From educating myself here on DB and looking at what the fish fanatical Japanese do, it seemed to be a smart way of doing things.
I often spear in Thailand and like so many other places, they don't bleed nor gut there. But I suspect the reason is partly that intestines can be and sometimes are used for fish soups but a bigger part of the explanation is that fish is sold whole by weight.
Lately, I have seen a few anglers say they don't gut because it leaves the fish open to bacteria infections.
Some even don't brain, but just put their whole fish in a cold slurry which I find less than humane.
Anyways, here comes the piece of information I wanted to add to the discussion. Last year, I was on a photo assignment in Japan and one night I was chatting to a local marine biologist in a sushi restaurant. He was from Kinki University which is one of two that are famous for the research into fish farming and his specialty was parasites in fish.
I tell him about how I bleed and gut pretty fast after braining and he says, that is indeed a very good practice. He said that studies have shown that parasites in a fish's gut will migrate into the flesh of the fish in hopes of surviving longer, once their host is dead. He said, this is the reason, sashimi fish are gutted fast.
Being given a more scientific reason to continue what I was already doing felt good
sashimi quality tuna is never gutted. There is more emphasys on stopping brain activity and cooling it fast to preserve the meat. Basically tuna is killed by bleeding it (slitting just behind gills while heart is still pumping), and then killing it with a special circular chisel which leave a round hole in a head, and then inserting a monofilament line through a part of spine column to stop any twitching. And then either dumping fish into an overcooled brine tank or moving it into a blast freezer. And in this way tuna comes to the market, with head and guts still atached, and chunk of monofilament sticking out from the hole in the head to prove that everything was done right. That is sashimi quality tuna. But then, tuna doesn't have any parasites to begin with, and most concern is about building of hystamine acid in the flesh, which is a function of tissue temperature. Most bottom fish on the other hand, is full of parasites and is therefore would be the last one I would ever eat raw. Bottom fish has parasites in practially every part of the fish, not just intestines. Cook it or freeze it to -40 to kill parasites.
Hey Andrew,
Yeah, you are right about the procedure (cuts behind pectoral fins and then the whole spinal cord destroyed with long mono or steel) and the emphasis on getting the tuna frozen fast.
They also often land the fish on foam mattresses so it doesn't bruise itself thrashing about.
But I do think a lot of them are gutted. The fisherman does it from the gill cavity. Cut the gills loose, cut intestines loose around the anus and then pull out the intestines from the head end.
At least, that's what I have seen on a few videos and read in two different documents for crew members on how to prepare tuna for sashimi markets (attached to this post).
This one sentence is interesting though:
Yeah, you are right about the procedure (cuts behind pectoral fins and then the whole spinal cord destroyed with long mono or steel) and the emphasis on getting the tuna frozen fast.
They also often land the fish on foam mattresses so it doesn't bruise itself thrashing about.
But I do think a lot of them are gutted. The fisherman does it from the gill cavity. Cut the gills loose, cut intestines loose around the anus and then pull out the intestines from the head end.
At least, that's what I have seen on a few videos and read in two different documents for crew members on how to prepare tuna for sashimi markets (attached to this post).
This one sentence is interesting though:
The gills and guts can now be removed through the gill cover in one piece. The swim bladder and the gonads should be left in the gut cavity. Some fish graders like to look at the gonads to determine the sex and stage of sexual maturity of the fish.
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Around the world processing Tuna differs a bit but in terms of what we do Diving Gecko is spot on. I've done many trips with DB forum member Miles on his commercial Tuna boat Dr.Fish.
The process we follow is, once the fish is boat side we firstly bleed it by cutting the cutaneous artery just below the pectoral fins.
The we pith the fish, this entails cutting a section out of the head which exposes the spinal cord. We then insert a reamer, a section of stainless steel wire, all the way down the spinal cord.
The fish is then brought onto the boat where it is processed. This entails removing the gills and intestines. In order to save space we usually remove the complete head.
The whole carcass is then wrapped in cloth and put into a ice slurry, in which it will stay until we offload at the buyer.
Below a video I made showing some of the process:
The process we follow is, once the fish is boat side we firstly bleed it by cutting the cutaneous artery just below the pectoral fins.
The we pith the fish, this entails cutting a section out of the head which exposes the spinal cord. We then insert a reamer, a section of stainless steel wire, all the way down the spinal cord.
The fish is then brought onto the boat where it is processed. This entails removing the gills and intestines. In order to save space we usually remove the complete head.
The whole carcass is then wrapped in cloth and put into a ice slurry, in which it will stay until we offload at the buyer.
Below a video I made showing some of the process:
I've eaten plenty of bottom or reef fish sashimi in Japan. No worries yet. If prepared by someone who knows what they are doing, I have no issues. I even had a lot of Fugu (puffer fish) which demands the chef has a special license to be able to serve it, as it is potentially deadly poisonous.
Tai (people discuss whether it's red snapper or sea bream) is a high end sashimi fish. As is Hata (grouper) and Hirame (flounder). I was fortunate enough to be on an assignment on a small island in Japan, where we had amazing sashimi three times a day for nine days straight. Lot of amberjack, yellowtail and tuna, too
Tai (people discuss whether it's red snapper or sea bream) is a high end sashimi fish. As is Hata (grouper) and Hirame (flounder). I was fortunate enough to be on an assignment on a small island in Japan, where we had amazing sashimi three times a day for nine days straight. Lot of amberjack, yellowtail and tuna, too
Do sharks frequently show interest when you have bleeding fish on your stringer that's attached to your belt?
I moved to Coco Beach, FL, and I'm planning to scout some low-vis bridge pylons on scuba (brackish water, I think). Most of my experience is freshwater, and I'm a little nervous about sharks, especially if I cant see them until they're four to six feet from me.
Am I just having the jitters or is this a legitimate concern?
I moved to Coco Beach, FL, and I'm planning to scout some low-vis bridge pylons on scuba (brackish water, I think). Most of my experience is freshwater, and I'm a little nervous about sharks, especially if I cant see them until they're four to six feet from me.
Am I just having the jitters or is this a legitimate concern?