Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

I'm with you on that one CG...

I remember wincing every time my vegetarian girlfriend savagely severed some silverbeet for dinner... could almost see the other veges cringing each time she came down the stairs, knife in hand .... LOL

I have filleted more fish than most people, have been a keen fisherman since I used to get tied to the jetty with a life jacket on as a little kid. I was always on hand to wield the knife, and have abvsolutely no problem with it at all. I generally don't let others near the fish as I can't bear to see it wasted, but I applaude you CG that you want to learn. Some, like many friends of mine are happy to fish but refuse to fillet or clean them. It pisses me off.

As I said before, a sharp knife and some pointers and you will be on your way. I am happy to do a bit of a filleting 101 if anyone wants it. Just won't be until either mine are that size or I get out in the boat next.

I DO NOT WANT TO OFFEND ANYONE THIS IS JUST MY OPINION

Pansy or not it all comes down to how you define Humane.
Dictionary quotes HUMANE;kind, showing mercy, gentle.
I personally have killed alot of animals for food, cattle,sheep,pigs etc and do it as humanely as possible.

CG this is not intended to start an argument, I know it is only a fish, I just don't like to see animals suffer as there is no reason why they should.

I'm like gnash, to me it doesn't matter if the fish or crustacean feels pain I just wouldn't like to remove his innards with it still watching me (reminds me of the end of Braveheart). I am glad that it was chilled first; I read that they will just die under 50 degrees, but I guess not.

Pointers on how to strip down their lifeless carcasses would be great!

Hey CG, did you purge him over a couple of days first?

My two cents.... I have gutted a fair few fish in my time too. Yes we all say we need to do things as humanely as possible. However how many fishermen (or women) here kill the fish they catch 'humanely' as soon as you get them out of the water? Not many, I don't!. By the time most people get to cleaning their daily catch, the fish have been slowly dying in the bottom of a bucket and most of them are dead by that time. I always cut the heads off first regardless diagonal down from just behind the pectoral fins on both sides. Takes less than 5 seconds.

My main problem with that video was that the knife was blunt and he was doing it in his kitchen sink. Plus the fish was being cleaned in the reverse order.

I always kill the fish straight away - usually by breaking the neck (put finger through gills and push head backwards). Leaving the fish flapping in the bottom of the boat or in a bucket with 5cm of water is unnecessary in my view.

'xactly VB... and "bleeding" them improves the taste in a lot of fish...

especially "salmon" and other soft flesh fish, if fishing for salmon/tailor.. break their necks as VB describes then bury them head down in the sand... wet occasionally if very hot and there for a while... really does make a difference to the taste.

Learnt about killing fish rather than having them flap around in the bottom of the boat when I was about ten...

Maniac father flipped a two metre grey nurse shark into the boat and laughed like crazy as it flailed around knashing it's teeth and us three kids bailed out of the boat pronto lol

Think he's still bloody laughing 40 years later

LOL, because "out of the boat" where the shark came from is sooooo much safer! LOL

funny visuals.

hey gnash06 it good that you like to do stuff humane. I like my stuff natural survival of the fittest.

Hey as we say if it don't kill it is fatten

Jump in a tank with a hungry shark and ask him to do his stuff humanely.

sure

Tell me do you eat chicken? you ever seen them get processed? plus i sure you had a cut or two i did not even know i believe this fish was numb allso as he was in ice for so long.( it just not a good way to kill fish) don't do it.

rupert i did not see any blood in the fish those salom have blood in them? and he was purged for 5 days before.

I would jump in, but prolly shoot him first (Humanely of course)

CG,
The trick to icing a fish quickly is to put it in a small amount of water, and then add as much ice as you can. Just placing it on ice will not cool it down as quickly. Let it sit in the ice water about 20 minutes, and see if that will do it.

The other considerations here (besides the 'humanely' part) are safety and preparing a tasty and attractive meal. If the fish is flopping about while you are trying to clean it, you're more likely to injure yourself, or damage the meal you're trying to prepare. I've also heard that an animal that struggles during death builds up off flavors in the flesh. I'm not sure if that's true of fish, but people who hunt swear that is true. A stressed animal will taste more 'gamey' than an unstressed animal.

So whether you are concerned about humane treatment, personal safety, an attractively prepared fish, or good flavor, it makes sense to kill the fish quickly.

Just MHO.

fish who suffocate build up lactic acid and it does taint the fish flavor. Not sure if this has been said yet but to super cool the fish you can put salt water in the bucket and add Ice. That takes the fish quickly down to below freezing. Just like making Home made ice cream!

home made fish flavored icecream sounds like a potential marketing success

I have been up to lots a stuff, i removed the lettuce as they keep getting root rot, while the cabbage in the same system was not.

The cabbage has a more smaller root and a more fibrous root system so it is more piratical to use that plant.

And i added some shade in the form of a PVC green house. (50%shade cloth)

a cali flower is forming and the fish are doing ok i feed a hand full once a day