Most merciful way to kill your catch?

[saganco]

This may seem like a stupid question to most fishermen and women, but since most of us also "keep" fish and do our utmost to keep them healthy and alive - I would like to know the most merciful and painless way to kill the fish we catch for dinner. I've heard that cutting their gills will allow them to bleed out in the live well, make the meat taste better, and is not painful for them.

Any other thoughts - or comments on this method? I love to fish and to eat it, but having a terrible time making the transition from keeping my fish alive to killing them for dinner! :cool:

[Amphiprion]

Well, not pleasant, but here are the clinical recommendations: http://www.avma.org/issues/animal_welfare/euthanasia.pdf

[saganco]

Awww, you're TOO funny - 39 pages of mumbo jumbo!? :laugh:

How about the readers digest version for those of us who don't have that kind of time? I want merciful and something that won't affect the taste of the meat (or make it unhealthy for us)...

[The Zigman]

Stab it right through the top of the head.

[milesalive]

freezing water

[Amphiprion]

Awww, you're TOO funny - 39 pages of mumbo jumbo!? :laugh:

How about the readers digest version for those of us who don't have that kind of time? I want merciful and something that won't affect the taste of the meat (or make it unhealthy for us)...

That's what the table of contents is for ;). There are actually only 2 pages of pertinent info. According to the table of contents, start on page 20.

FWIW, freezing is actually not recommended, since nociception (pain) hasn't been proven to be eliminated at freezing temps.

[saganco]

Awww, I tried to read that stuff, but my soft heart breaks with the decriptions of killing all those innocent animals in such "creative" methods. I couldn't get very far.

So is cutting the gills and letting them bleed out a bad plan or a painful way to die? Supposed to make the meat taste better... But I don't know, never tried it. Freezing water is kinda hard to manage in a live well...

[Amphiprion]

I wouldn't imagine that it would feel great. That's like severing your pulmonary artery/vein.

Edit: If you are willing to do that, trystunning, decapitating. Using any chemical agents are not recommended if you are going to eat that particular catch.

[saganco]

So stunning is what - a bonk on the head, but not lethal? Wouldn't decapitating the fish make it harder to skin, scale, or clean? Especially for a catfish (hubby used to nail the catfish's head to a board to skin it - before my time...). Any thoughts on the cleaning/scaling/skinning without a head?

I would have never thought about chemicals :yuck: my whole life is about using as few chemicals for anything in life that I can.

[Amphiprion]

Yes, it would make it difficult for certain fish like you mention. You wanted humane/merciful, not easy :P

Edit: you can always pith.

[saganco]

Edit: you can always pith.

At the risk of looking like a moron, what is "pith"? :screwy: Ok, so I want merciful AND easy - so sue me... :rofl:

[excuzzzeme]

I kill and bleed, and clean mine right at the fishing site if I intend to eat them.

As a life-long sportsman I don't think there is such a thing as a paiinless and humane way to kill. Just expedient makes the most sense.

[saganco]

On the boat WHILE you're fishing? I mean maybe you got into a great boil that lasts a couple of hours, and you don't want to miss any more catches, so you just put them in the live well. THEN when the catching is dead again, perhaps THEN you might want to to the killing and cleaning. Am I missing something? For the winter months here in Colorado, we'll mostly be trolling for wipers and such (hopefully we'll get lucky and NOT catch trout). So the killing as soon as possible I get, but it's the HOW that I'm asking about :duh: Maybe I just beat them to death like this poor guy...

[Amphiprion]

Pithing means to destroy its brain. As in, if you are familiar where each particular fish's brain is, smash it.

[beeZer350]

I try to pith and then bleed as much as possible. Not only is it immediate but also keeps the lactic acid from building up in the muscle tissue which can alter the taste of the fish (or so I've heard).

[Bottomfeeder2]

Smash 'em in the head with a big PVC pipe or a small wooden souvenier baseball bat. First shot, if executed right, will knock the fish out, and which point you could bleed it or hit it again to finish the job or whatever.

[saganco]

Thanks folks. I can get the massive bonk on the head, but when you say bleed them, are you talking gutting them or cutting the gills? I've heard that with striper (because they fight so hard) that you should gut them as fast as possible...

[hamsterman]

You want to cut the gills to bleed em. You can gut it too if you want though.

[BreezeRuehls]

Whatever happened to a sharp blade cutting the head off in one chop?

[ch-47 soldier]

i always cut it through the spine. catfish always got the knife through the head. cutting the fishes head off doesnt make it any harder to gut or clean.

[BreezeRuehls]

cut your thumb off...

[frigginchi]

P.I.T.H. = Pop In The Head

[saganco]

i always cut it through the spine. catfish always got the knife through the head. cutting the fishes head off doesnt make it any harder to gut or clean.

So the head off thing would only make it harder to clean would be the catfish so you can "nail it to a board and skin it". Bleeding out only would work if they're still alive - so it would seem that the key would be a good bonk to render them unconscious, but not kill them so they can still be pumping blood. How to bonk to knock out and not kill? Seems it would be too difficult to know that fine line... It looks like cutting gills to bleed out while in the live well without the PITH would be better eating meat... Cutting heads off "kills" (scuze' the pun) the ability to bleed out, so I don't see the advantage in it.

[grumpygrady]

for bigger fish and catfish we use a wire in the head like a lobotomy or that frog in old biology class push it in between the eyes until you hit the brain and twist it around and around fish is dead but still breathing ,now bleed or what ever
smaller ones we dehead or fillet after a PITH lol never heard it called that but it fits

[Amphiprion]

P.I.T.H. = Pop In The Head

Nope. Different and a bit more specific than that: http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/pithing

[MMG]

Try this webpage.
It gives lots of clear, concise information about how to clean various types of fish and the tools you will need to do the job.

http://www.takemefishing.org/fishing/fishopedia/preparing-your-catch/cleaning-your-fish

[saganco]

GREAT info!

[BreezeRuehls]

This...

[SubRosa]

I stick my thumb into the fishes mouth, bend its head back and snap its neck right behind the skull. But then I only fish for Trout. I wouldn't suggest my technique with Pike or Bluefish!

[jaysen]

i sever the spine right behind the head with a sharp filet knife. i also bleed out the larger fish. it hurts them im sure, but it's a quick death. best method is to take the head off as quickly as possible (as mentioned above).

[saganco]

Sounds like votes are as follows:
Most merciful - cut head off quickly - probably doesn't taste quite as good as below...
Second most merciful and better tasting - bleed out. Less fishy tasting...

[Slingervel]

Awww, I tried to read that stuff, but my soft heart breaks with the decriptions of killing all those innocent animals in such "creative" methods. I couldn't get very far.

Then why kill them at all? As a serious fisherman I know it's much more satisfying to see your catch swim away.
You can always buy frozen fish in a store if you want to eat them!

[gotglock]

Then why kill them at all? As a serious fisherman I know it's much more satisfying to see your catch swim away.
You can always buy frozen fish in a store if you want to eat them!


Fresh fish taste ten times better and doesnt have the preservatives the mass market fish have.

I always give the fish a few good hard whacks on the head with the fillet knife and begin gutting and filleting.

[Amphiprion]

I have issues with with trophy fishing (i.e. let the body rot to make a mold), but I have no issues as long as it is eaten. There's nothing wrong or dishonorable about actually eating what you catch and kill. Just respect the animal and go about what you do. That's my philosophy, anyway. I catch and release mostly (assuming you can, as some fish die on their way to the surface if they are reeled from depth--in which case I always have the intent to eat them. I feel bad, as sometimes these fish are young and not necessarily legal to keep, but I keep them anyway, since for me it would be a waste of life to just throw it back). I will occasionally go out with the intent to catch and eat, though.

[saganco]

Plus you can always look at it this way - it's easier to justify the expenses of the fishing hobby if you eat what you catch and don't BUY fish to eat!

[chefjamesscott]

Just my 2 cents.

When it all comes down to it why are you worried about the pain of killing the fish?

When you just made it fight for it's life as you dragged it kicking and screaming to the surface after it impaled itself on the shiney steel barb you so cleverly masked as a bit of dinner in front of it. I would suppose the whole dragging the fish to the surface after it has had a sharp hook rip into it hurts a tonne.

When we went fishing we just smacked them on the head till dead. After all it is a fish that is about to be eaten for dinner. Or if it is hard to kill a fish, just go to the supermarket and get one ready to eat.

[johnpeezy]

Coming from the pacific northwest and being a salmon fisherman, you really have to be concerned about the blood inside of the salmon fouling the taste of the meat.

I'm sure of a humane way to kill anything, and I'm almost positive the way we bleed out fish uphere has to be one of the most inhumane ways of killing a fish.

However, its a source of food and to get the best taste from your catch you want to bleed out a fish immediatly after it has been caught and you decide to keep it.

to bleed out the fish you do not want to kill it first, the whole process of bleeding out a fish is done by the fishes heart.

you can bleed out (without killing it immediatly) a fish two diffrent ways,

insert a filet knife BEHIND the gills and slice the main artery of the fish that runs along the spine. letting the heart pump all of the blood out of the body.

or you can cut a vertical slice right behind one of the gill plates deep enought until blood begins to come out of the wound, again letting the heart pump out all the blood.

Don't think bleeding out a fish is a humane way of killing the animal its far from it. It just happens to be a widley used practice to preserve the flavor of the meat.

the most humane way of killing a fish that I can think of is to play catch and release then let it get eatin by something else.

My suggestion to you would be as follows.

Focus less on the humane style of killing the fish, and more on preserving the fishes flavor.

That way when its time for dinner the fish tastes so good there won't be anything left of it and the little guy didn't get killed for nothing.

catch what you use, not what you can.

[saganco]

Great advice and taste IS the reason for catching them mostly (obviously there's only so much one can legally put in one's freezer, so there will be some catch and release). Can't wait till the boat can get in the water come spring time!

[bunnyhunter42]

bring a large knife with you and just cut its head off.

[Pavo71]

I use a hatchet to lop the head off of the fish except for catfish, those I nail their head to a tree.

You can lop the head off of a catfish from the skull to just behind the pectoral fins, throw the head in the sink and it will swim around for about a half hour.

[Turbosaurus]

Umm yeah, okay.. on that note... (I can't believe its been repeated. In NYC we have urban legends- that's gotta be the trailer park version)

Seriously- I can see why a fish like salmon would make a difference if you bleed the fish or not, but as a fisherman in NY where I catch trout in the rivers and stripers in the sound (the rest I don't care for, so its catch and release) - chop off their head with a sharp knife. Gut them right there- it all goes back in the water, throw it in the cooler of ice till u get home. And they're delicious. I've never bled a fish, and I've never eaten one that was fishy.

When it comes to fish that would require such lengths- like blues for example- I throw them back. They're fishy and greasy- yuck. You know what they say- only the good die young. Even if a slower death would make them more tasty- to me its not worth tourturing the fish.

[saganco]

Turbo I think you have the very best comment of all. We prefer that answer to everything else and still sounds like good eating.

I think this thread has stated every possible viewpoint now so everything else is.... Well I've got my answers. You guys can continue to play around with this but if you're doing it to answer the OP, well, consider it done and finished. Y'all are great for bouncing ideas around.

[johnpeezy]

Seriously- I can see why a fish like salmon would make a difference if you bleed the fish or not.

the only reason why it is practiced here is because the blood of a salmon has a VERY pungent odor and flavor especially sockeye its really surprising how much of a diffrece it makes.


I was not sure if you meant to say I can see or I can't see

so I figured I would give you the reasoning behind the madness.

[Bart G]

I chop the head off too if I keep.

One time I was cleaning a crappie. I had cut the head off and had it lying on the cutting board. The head sprang to life and the eye looked at me and the fish took a big gulp of air. It made an awful sound and it flipped me out. I stabbed the head a couple times and threw it in the trash. Ew.

[Kaluden]

I chop the head off too if I keep.

One time I was cleaning a crappie. I had cut the head off and had it lying on the cutting board. The head sprang to life and the eye looked at me and the fish took a big gulp of air. It made an awful sound and it flipped me out. I stabbed the head a couple times and threw it in the trash. Ew.

That made me laugh. Thanks, now everyone in the office thinks i'm a retard for laughing in a cube by myself.

[USMC2171]

I use a horse shoe stake to cause blunt force trauma. I then descale and clean the fish Depending on the size of the fish, determines the amount of force. I live here in NC on the coast, and we do a lot of surf fishing, so the fish are bigger and need a good whack, after the intial wack it's only a matter of seconds when the gills stop moving. Sorry, if that offends anyone, but the flounder,and the spotted drum (channel bass), so delicious, and we feel healthier choice over buying fish from the store, don't know how long they've been there.
Good luck

[Tay690]

I try to pith and then bleed as much as possible. Not only is it immediate but also keeps the lactic acid from building up in the muscle tissue which can alter the taste of the fish (or so I've heard).

This is the best way to satisfy your taste for fish and to kill as quickly and humanely as possible

Blunt force trauma is by far the fastest and easiest way IME
Sometimes the fish twitch a bit (I know it sounds cold) but trust me...they are long gone even though they are still moving

I personally don't enjoy doing it myself...but this is the fastest, most readily available and most effective way to quickly kill the fish without it suffering

[Ajordan]

This article may be interesting for some to read:

http://www.cookingissues.com/2009/08/11/japanese-fish-killing-ike-jime-smackdown-part-1/

Not so much a question of humane method but was fascinating to me (along with most of their posts) nonetheless.

If you are reading this topic my guess is that the pictures won't offend you but you should know they depict butchering fish...

[Likestofish]

Umm yeah, okay.. on that note... (I can't believe its been repeated. In NYC we have urban legends- that's gotta be the trailer park version)

Seriously- I can see why a fish like salmon would make a difference if you bleed the fish or not, but as a fisherman in NY where I catch trout in the rivers and stripers in the sound (the rest I don't care for, so its catch and release) - chop off their head with a sharp knife. Gut them right there- it all goes back in the water, throw it in the cooler of ice till u get home. And they're delicious. I've never bled a fish, and I've never eaten one that was fishy.

When it comes to fish that would require such lengths- like blues for example- I throw them back. They're fishy and greasy- yuck. You know what they say- only the good die young. Even if a slower death would make them more tasty- to me its not worth tourturing the fish.

Well when you cut the fishes head off your pretty much bleeding it. The whole point of bleeding is to remove blood right away and if your cleaning right away you just did bleeding and cleaning at the same time.

[Siphon1]

I bleed them throw em in a cooler and fillet when i get home.There is no humane way to kill a fish. Once you hook them their tortured the whole way in and some are in shock by the time you land them

[msouth468]

Bleed them? Wow, I just fillet them when I get home, regardless if they are alive or not. A lot of old wifes tales floating around this thread.

[dirtydawg10]

I usually cut just under the gills to bleed them then spike the brain.

[excuzzzeme]

I think every fisherman is going to kill the fish for money only. So, he is more busy in catching the fish, so any fisherman cannot say that he or she had killed the catch mercifully.

Actually, no one has suggested that they do it for profit. It seems that the majority are like me in catching what we can eat, not to sell to a market. There is no point of saving and freezing as it alters the taste. We catch and release or catch and eat, go use that argument on the trawlers and net boats. Sport fishermen are not providing tons to the market. There is a vast difference between sport fishing and commercial fishing.

[daclozer]

Bleed them? Wow, I just fillet them when I get home, regardless if they are alive or not. A lot of old wifes tales floating around this thread.

Not sure what you fish for, but if you fish for tuna, mackerals, kingfish or other similar saltwater fish you definitely need to bleed them. Cut the gills and place them head down in ice will do it pretty quickly. Otherwise the meat will be tainted. We make sushi and sashimi right on the boat and I can tell you if you don't bleed them they will taste like crap...

As far as humane? I have caught large saltwater fish with massive hooks hanging our of their mouths and big shark bites in thier backs and they are eating like there is nothing wrong, so I don't really believe that they feel pain anyway. Either way, if I am going to keep them I kill them right away and get them on ice.

[Mikey5924]

I like to use a sharp ice pick to the head right behind the eyes. Logically that is where most fish brains are located. A quick cleaning and into a ziplock bag into the ice chest. Never had a problem with fish taste, most bad flavors come from the internal organ contents seeping back into the meat. A good sharp knife and some precise cutting will go pretty far in preventing organ contents leaking onto the flesh.