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Humane ways to dispatch fish


Oz98

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Hi all, was just wondering what our fellow raiders do in terms of dispatching fish (humanely I hope lol). 

Have researched online but I know there's a few tricks here and there that some experienced fishos might use...

Thank you in advance, I hope your all well and happy, have a great weekend. 

Cheers, Oz. 🍺😄🌊

 

 

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37 minutes ago, zmk1962 said:

Its called an ikijime and there is a technique to use with different fish....

Discussed previously in posts... you can use the search bar... but I think all the info is summarized well by @Scienceman in this post...

Cheers 

Zoran

 

AH Yes the ikijime, the only thing is accuracy with this method because each fish's head varies and it would suck to not find the brain first go Ek! 

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Mate all you can do is try to give a fish a quick and painless death. For flathead i usually just give them a kiss through the centre of the skull with pliers or a screwdriver.

For all other fish a quick blade through the gills and throat.

It shouldnt be a complicated sensitive task....just dispatch them as quickly and respectfully as you can with whatever tools you have available

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I cut the throat of all my fish when I catch them and put them in the live bait tank to bleed out. Unfortunately they usually fit 😫.   A little while later I transfer them to the ice cold water in the esky.   Sometimes with flatties I just put them Strata got in the cold water.

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12 minutes ago, GoingFishing said:

Mate all you can do is try to give a fish a quick and painless death. For flathead i usually just give them a kiss through the centre of the skull with pliers or a screwdriver.

For all other fish a quick blade through the gills and throat.

It shouldnt be a complicated sensitive task....just dispatch them as quickly and respectfully as you can with whatever tools you have available

 I think I'll go with the clean cut through the throat and gills as you've said, might op the ikijime later as I'm saving some money up! 

8 minutes ago, Welster said:

I cut the throat of all my fish when I catch them and put them in the live bait tank to bleed out. Unfortunately they usually fit 😫.   A little while later I transfer them to the ice cold water in the esky.   Sometimes with flatties I just put them Strata got in the cold water.

I've always worried when I do cut the gills and throat that I'll do it wrong and the fish will spaz out!!!

5 minutes ago, savit said:

Here is the website with fish heads. Just select the species you are interested in.

http://www.ikijime.com/fish/flathead-dusky/

 

Thank you very much Savit I will keep this for future reference. 

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The best possible way not to harm the fish at all i know and not having to dispatch the fish,is to come fishing with me and you won't have to worry about it.You won't need a net,a gaff,anything.Mine are only for show.

But yeah,i just chuck my fish that i catch everytime I've aged a couple of years into a chilled esky and they go to sleep.

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11 hours ago, zmk1962 said:

Its called an ikijime and there is a technique to use with different fish....

Discussed previously in posts... you can use the search bar... but I think all the info is summarized well by @Scienceman in this post...

Cheers 

Zoran

 

Same here.   I always spike my fish or squid I intend to eat.  Quick and humane 

Bear

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The same way they used to kill baby fur seals...…………….with a club 😲🤓.

 

 I do the ice slurry but I do know guys that 'club' their fish.

 

It would be interesting to eat 2 fish of the same size after being dispatched both ways & see which way eats better.

 

I think there could be lactic acid build up on a fish that is 'put to sleep' on ice rather that killed instantly by a blow to the head?

 

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You can "iki" a fish with a knife, or just get a braddall from bunnings and use that. Big fish like wahoo, spannies the occasional marlin that i might knock- they get an axe handle to the skull. When they are subdued I bleed them out with a knife under the pec fins or back of the throat latch, head in a bucket of water to stop blood spatter all over the boat then after a few minutes into an ice slurry

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I've recently converted from cutting the throat to iki. You can definitely tell when you do it right as the fish expires immediately without thrashing. I dont like hearing live fish dying in the esky anymore must be getting old and soft.

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On 11/30/2018 at 7:47 PM, Fab1 said:

The best possible way not to harm the fish at all i know and not having to dispatch the fish,is to come fishing with me and you won't have to worry about it.You won't need a net,a gaff,anything.Mine are only for show.

But yeah,i just chuck my fish that i catch everytime I've aged a couple of years into a chilled esky and they go to sleep.

Give them a blankly there in for a long winter sleep! 

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On 12/1/2018 at 9:31 AM, kingie chaser said:

The same way they used to kill baby fur seals...…………….with a club 😲🤓.

 

 I do the ice slurry but I do know guys that 'club' their fish.

 

It would be interesting to eat 2 fish of the same size after being dispatched both ways & see which way eats better.

 

I think there could be lactic acid build up on a fish that is 'put to sleep' on ice rather that killed instantly by a blow to the head?

 

I have read that whacking the fishes head hard and in 1 clean "shot" to the ground stuns the fish and causes brain damage and then it dies essentially being numbed.. 

clubbing might require more then one hit and might be bit distressing.

i prefer now a clean cut to the throat or gill as I will feel bad if I slam the fish and it's not hard enough for a clean stun. 

Cheers Oz. 

Edited by Oz98
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17 hours ago, Toilor3000 said:

I've recently converted from cutting the throat to iki. You can definitely tell when you do it right as the fish expires immediately without thrashing. I dont like hearing live fish dying in the esky anymore must be getting old and soft.

I'm with you there Toilor3000 even though the esky method is considered humane I personally don't think so.. 

ah I will now know a clean slice if it doesn't thrash, thank you!

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I can with experience and research say Ikijime and throat cutting is the best way to humanely dispatch fish and guarantee eating quality.

Back when i first started fishing, i would bonk it once or twice. but i don't suggest this as it can be hit and miss sometimes as the fish tastes horrible)

I have also broken the neck  and cut the throat only which also yields decent eating quality.

But by far, Ikijime is my go to method. 

The best way i think of it is, imagine yourself as a fish. Would you rather slitting your throat and breaking your neck or swiftly go brain dead.

The reason why ikijime and throat cutting is also very good for eating quality is quite simple.

Like humans, fish's heart  pumps a lot of blood when it is under pressure, stress  etc and over use of muscle has acids in it

Fish blood similairly has enzymes in it which deteriorates the muscle over time.  You may of heard the term, burnt/burn tuna - Tuna run so hard that they burn out their muscle and the quality of the tuna vary significantly if they fight it for too long

So taking that into account my goal is to remove all movement as much as possible and i found Ikijime works best.

Bonking/ throat cutting still makes the fish flap around a bit.

Whereas if you ikijime properly, the fish jerks quickly and then it hardly flaps around after that.

Tie it in with throat cutting and you have yourself some top notch eating fish.

Notable fish you should dispatch properly and humanely are all pelagic, game fish and trevally

 

On a side note, there are even some fish that i gut immediately if i am on the rocks. Just because, sometimes i catch a first on the first 10 minutes and then when i leave a few hours later, the guts smell extra nasty. 
 

Edited by Kevwing
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11 hours ago, Kevwing said:

I can with experience and research say Ikijime and throat cutting is the best way to humanely dispatch fish and guarantee eating quality.

Back when i first started fishing, i would bonk it once or twice. but i don't suggest this as it can be hit and miss sometimes as the fish tastes horrible)

I have also broken the neck  and cut the throat only which also yields decent eating quality.

But by far, Ikijime is my go to method. 

The best way i think of it is, imagine yourself as a fish. Would you rather slitting your throat and breaking your neck or swiftly go brain dead.

The reason why ikijime and throat cutting is also very good for eating quality is quite simple.

Like humans, fish's heart  pumps a lot of blood when it is under pressure, stress  etc and over use of muscle has acids in it

Fish blood similairly has enzymes in it which deteriorates the muscle over time.  You may of heard the term, burnt/burn tuna - Tuna run so hard that they burn out their muscle and the quality of the tuna vary significantly if they fight it for too long

So taking that into account my goal is to remove all movement as much as possible and i found Ikijime works best.

Bonking/ throat cutting still makes the fish flap around a bit.

Whereas if you ikijime properly, the fish jerks quickly and then it hardly flaps around after that.

Tie it in with throat cutting and you have yourself some top notch eating fish.

Notable fish you should dispatch properly and humanely are all pelagic, game fish and trevally

 

On a side note, there are even some fish that i gut immediately if i am on the rocks. Just because, sometimes i catch a first on the first 10 minutes and then when i leave a few hours later, the guts smell extra nasty. 
 

Thank you very much Kev glad to see the same methods suggested by yourself. 

I get extremely frustrated when I see people catch fish then chuck it on the bottom of the boat and let it suffocate. 

This one time I saw this snapper and it's body was bent sideways from spazzing out.

anway thank you very much everyone I really appreciate the advice, and most importantly I hope fellow raiders know how to or will continue to dispatch humanely. 

 

 

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Guest Guest123456789

I use some alligator clips on the gills then connect the circuit breaker on my 12 volt battery to give the fish a charge 

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37 minutes ago, flatheadluke said:

I use some alligator clips on the gills then connect the circuit breaker on my 12 volt battery to give the fish a charge 

Bahaha Sounds like you are trying to revive it .... perhaps to dispatch it more humanely next time !

Z

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15 hours ago, Oz98 said:

Thank you very much Kev glad to see the same methods suggested by yourself. 

I get extremely frustrated when I see people catch fish then chuck it on the bottom of the boat and let it suffocate. 

This one time I saw this snapper and it's body was bent sideways from spazzing out.

anway thank you very much everyone I really appreciate the advice, and most importantly I hope fellow raiders know how to or will continue to dispatch humanely. 

 

 

All good,

In regards to the bend fish, that is due to rigimortis.

That is another thing that happens to fish. Don't be too concerned about that, humans react the same way.
When the fish die, some chemical process occurs in the muscle and become stiff.

For now, i wouldn't be concerned but there is some correlated between that and dispatching fish for eating. Japanese have done a whole heap of research on it if you are interested but, we don't exactly prepare extremely fresh sashimi.

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