One For The Fish Farmers.

[Crossy]

OK

Wifeys family have got a pond with some good-sized Tilipia in it, obviously eating some of them is the next task.

One we've netted them my lady wants to know the best way to dispatch them without causing too much distress, to her and the fish, so no bludgeoning to death with a baseball bat.

She's talking about dropping them into a container of iced water, they apparently soon stop moving and get filleted (they are definitely dead after that process).

We're not talking mass-production here, so is this the best way? How do the commercial farmers do the job?

[keeniau96]

When out fishing I usually cut the spine, either at the tail or just behind the head.

[centrico]

Fresh fish on the boat we would crack them on the head once then fillet and sell them to customers on the beach. Rod caught fish. Freshest cod most of the customers ever had.

[pwm]

For what it's worth, the village technique I've observed is to put the live fish in a plastic bucket, then throw in a couple of handfuls of salt, quickly put the lid on the bucket and "swirl" around a bit until they stop moving. This definitely kills them within seconds without "deforming" the fish in any way (meaning they still look good if they're going to be barbequeued or steamed whole), but I'm not so sure about the level of suffering experienced by the victim...

[russianrobert]

Get a heavy object that fits comfortably in the hand and is not too large (a.k.a a priest)

Hold the fish in your hand and administer a sharp whack to the head. Once is enough if done correctly.

Quick and painless.

[gotlost]

Get a heavy object that fits comfortably in the hand and is not too large (a.k.a a priest)

Hold the fish in your hand and administer a sharp whack to the head. Once is enough if done correctly.

Quick and painless.

And how would you know that it is quick and painless. Did you try it on your person?

[zorro1]

I learnt this whilst fishing on a yacht delivery from Miami to Chesapeake bay. In the gulf stream we were trolling and the fish were large and blood spill in the cockpit would cause problems. The captain learn t a technique when he was in Cuba that was simply pouring a splash of alcohol into the gills. The fish go into a massive seizure and die on the spot. I wouldnt have believed it except i did it myself! Best just to use rubbing alcohol ( we used just a bit of scotch) in a plastic spray bottle should work fine.

Actually come to think of it just show the fish thai whisky, it would rather die than be exposed to that stuff

Edited April 28, 2010 by zorro1

[Sisaketmike]

When out fishing I usually cut the spine, either at the tail or just behind the head.

I'd suggest to use C4. you'll have filet in some seconds.

[RedBullHorn]

Wifeys family have got a pond with some good-sized Tilipia in it, obviously eating some of them is the next task.

One we've netted them my lady wants to know the best way to dispatch them without causing too much distress, to her and the fish, so no bludgeoning to death with a baseball bat.

She's talking about dropping them into a container of iced water, they apparently soon stop moving and get filleted (they are definitely dead after that process).

We're not talking mass-production here, so is this the best way? How do the commercial farmers do the job?

I think we don't....because i just sit at 1 corner, keep my sight in line at the weighing scale and collect the money~

[Beardog]

When we were commercial or pleasure fishing we would whack them with a fish whack (mini baseball bat with lead inside. For marlins & squirmy sailfish I used a metal full baseball bat with metal in the core to make a quick kill. seems inhumane but it is better than getting skewed by a marlin or chowed on by an Ono. When they lunge & bite they can go through muscle & bone. Even with catfish in Wisconsin & pike the old club was the top choice of devastation. When the game fish looked messy we would first wrap it in cloth & then whack it. A lot easier to clean up the deck afterwords.

"Bon Appetite"

Edited May 6, 2010 by Beardog

[Crushdepth]

Drop the fish in ice until they are quiet then dispatch them. BTW salt will not stop tilapia - can survive in full strength seawater quite happily.

[Zeid]

required tools

1. Cloth

2. Rock

Directions

1. Grab the fish from the tail using the cloth to prevent slippage

2.Bang the head on your second tool (the rock)

**

cover with salt, stuff lemon grass up the mouth,

Grill

****

eat with sticky rice, and somtam

[JimShortz]

required tools

1. Cloth

2. Rock

Directions

1. Grab the fish from the tail using the cloth to prevent slippage

2.Bang the head on your second tool (the rock)

**

cover with salt, stuff lemon grass up the mouth,

Grill

****

eat with sticky rice, and somtam

Isn't there a gutting stage missing there, or do you grill with innards intact?

[Crossy]

Thanks chaps, seems a few of us missed the "no bludgeoning to death with a baseball bat" of the OP

I reckon the ice solution is best, although I like the alcohol idea, at least the fish dies happy (and I can drink the spare alcohol).

One of the first meals my new wife cooked was what she calls "Happy Fish" it's fish steamed in foil with all sorts of stuff and is delish. I only discovered after 3 or 4 meals that she was using my Johnnie Walker Black to make the fish happy, education followed, she now uses Johnnie Walker Red but it somehow doesn't quite taste the same

[IMA_FARANG]

If you intend to kill them there's no sure way to kill them without them suffering somewhat. But having said that the quickest way to dispatch them with minimum pain is to use a meat cleaver and chop off their heads.

For everyone who wants to ask,"How do you know it doesn't hurt?", my answer is that obviously I don't.

I'm just saying, since you want to kill them for food, chopping off their heads is about the quickest way to do it.

That is of course assuming that they are of a size you can handle easily.

Just use gloves, hold the fish down and use the cleaver in the other hand, and whack the fish just behind the gills, removing the head.

Now you're ready to gut the fish and cook them.

Edited May 9, 2010 by IMA_FARANG

[krading]

Where I am they just let them die in a bucket, the missus won't kill anything. Even mice caught on sticky paper just get put in the bin alive.

[David48]

Crossy I'll pm you with the exact quotes but essentually they are netted alive, stacked in ice and off to the market.

[JurgenG]

[sezze]

On the market i seen it many times when ordering fish . They are still alive at that point and they grab them out of the bucket and whack them on the head with a stick . They are instantly death , or so it seems ( besides some muscular tension there is not much happening anymore ) . After that , cut the fins , scrape outside , cut open and remove intestines ( and ask if you want them or not for separete packaging ) . And they are done . I believe it is as painless as possible , since time between bucket and everything is removed takes roughly 30 sec .

[Pacificperson]

The commercial way is with ice - either in direct contact or in a slurry. You can't be bashing individual fish when you are harvesting large numbers.

The most humane appearing way is to put the fish in a tank of water and add the ice afterwards so that the temperature drops slowly. It doesn't shock the fish and you don't get the thrashing arround that occurs with the commercial method.

[Gary A]

Thai catfish (pla duk) are not the same as most other fish. My Thai wife puts them in a bag of rock salt and waits about an hour.

I cut off their heads with a hatchet, gut them and then put them in the salt. I cook them on my gas grill. If I do not put them in the salt after removing the head and gutting them they will actually flop off the grill.

Using my wife's method, even after waiting an hour or so, they will also flop off the grill. She prefers to BBQ them whole, heads, innards and all.

We also have tilapia (pla nin) in our ponds. We put them in the rock salt and they die quite quickly out of water in the salt and won't flop off the grill.

[IsaanAussie]

Gary,

Shows what a bad fisherman I am but also sounds like an easy way to go when away from the fridge. In jest, does it stop the wild fish glowing in the dark?

[Gary A]

Gary,

Shows what a bad fisherman I am but also sounds like an easy way to go when away from the fridge. In jest, does it stop the wild fish glowing in the dark?

No, they don't glow in the dark because all my fish are tame pond pets. Only some wild fish glow in the dark. When/if Thailand gets a nuclear power plant, glow in the dark salt water fish may be much more common.

Edited February 3, 2012 by Gary A