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I’ve done some commercial fishing for bluefin which are overnighted to Japan. The dock brokers measure the lactic acid in the meat and price accordingly. To ge

I’ve done some commercial fishing for bluefin which are overnighted to Japan. The dock brokers measure the lactic acid in the meat and price accordingly. To get the max rate, you have to use the heaviest tackle to get the fish in quickly. Then you push a steel rod through the brain, and cut the tail and run a wire leader up the center of the spine. While these rules are mainly about preserving flavor, I have adopted them for recreational fishing. Throwing a live fish in a cooler is simple, but the Japanese technique is gross but more humane.

hotpotamus 4y ago
I remember hearing that tuna can actually heat up so much during a struggle that they begin to cook themselves and it's frowned upon, so I would assume a slower fight would be better. I do remember a short documentary on the subject where a Japanese tuna buyer was at a broker and was pretty skeptical of American fisherman and pointed out things they had done that a Japanese fisherman wouldn't. My experience is only from catching small game fish in the Gulf of Mexico, but I can agree that fishing is a brutal pastime in some ways, but also fish are not particularly sympathetic animals.
- KMag 4y ago
  Does the fish struggle with less might if it's being brought in more slowly? My naive guess is that it doesn't struggle appreciably less if being reeled in 25% more slowly. In that case, minimizing temperature is primarily a matter of minimizing the struggle time.
  - jcampbell1 4y ago
    The faster you get a fish to the boat, the more likely they are to survive when you release them. With strong enough line the fish can't turn away and so is just dragged in without expending much energy. It will thrash side to side a bit, but it can't do long exhausting sprints away from the boat. When fishing for tuna, recreational fishermen will use 100lb mono because people enjoy fighting the fish and the fish aren't released. Commercial fishing uses 500lb dyneema line, and in my experience you release 3 fish per kill due to size limits. You just crank them to the boat and if they are too small they will swim away like they never missed a beat.

hotpotamus 4y ago

I remember hearing that tuna can actually heat up so much during a struggle that they begin to cook themselves and it's frowned upon, so I would assume a slower fight would be better. I do remember a short documentary on the subject where a Japanese tuna buyer was at a broker and was pretty skeptical of American fisherman and pointed out things they had done that a Japanese fisherman wouldn't. My experience is only from catching small game fish in the Gulf of Mexico, but I can agree that fishing is a brutal pastime in some ways, but also fish are not particularly sympathetic animals.

KMag 4y ago
Does the fish struggle with less might if it's being brought in more slowly? My naive guess is that it doesn't struggle appreciably less if being reeled in 25% more slowly. In that case, minimizing temperature is primarily a matter of minimizing the struggle time.
- jcampbell1 4y ago
  The faster you get a fish to the boat, the more likely they are to survive when you release them. With strong enough line the fish can't turn away and so is just dragged in without expending much energy. It will thrash side to side a bit, but it can't do long exhausting sprints away from the boat. When fishing for tuna, recreational fishermen will use 100lb mono because people enjoy fighting the fish and the fish aren't released. Commercial fishing uses 500lb dyneema line, and in my experience you release 3 fish per kill due to size limits. You just crank them to the boat and if they are too small they will swim away like they never missed a beat.