[615063]

Is this the proper way to bleed tuna? And do you bleed all species of tuna??

"To get a most palatable dinner, bleed these gamesters while they are alive. With a fillet knife, cut a semi-circle into the soft area just aft of the pectoral fins, both sides. This bleeds a major artery and you'll know it when you hit it! Then make a cut to the bone, again on each side, a few finlets up from the tail.

Hang the fish over the side until it empties. Usually you'll get it back into the boat before the first shark shows up. Bleeding live tuna and mackerel allows much of the strong ""dark meat"" flavor to leave the body. The resulting flesh will be lighter in color and tastier."

 

[618925]

snook yeah that sounds like the correct way have used that technique for all the tuna i catch...one other thing get the fish iced down as soon as possible........as in imediatly.and no need to hang it over the side..... bleed it on deck and ice it as it is bleeding....the heart is pumping the blood out of the fish ...if you know how eviscerate the fish remove the guts and gills and pack the body cavity with ice.....this will cool the core body temperature down faster...

good luck.

 

[MakoMike]

Snooky,
No need for semi circles, just make a stab, a couple of inches behind the pectoral fin origin right on the lateral line. Go right down to the bone. Tie up the tail or hang the fish, to prevent bruising when it goes into its death rattle. Ice down as soon as the rattling stops.

 

[622255]

You can also cut out the gills and gut the fish.If you gut it there is a nice cavaty for an ice bag.This is good for long range trips in a small boat.The fish boxes on small boats can`t hold large fish so an ice bag in the stomach cavaty and a burlap cover constantly soaked with the salt water washdown will keep a tuna fresh for along while.This is what we did on a boat I fished on many years ago.Worked great.

 

[togmaster]

old post!

I remeber in the spring this was a great post . I will check back and repost the topic if I can find it from the archives?

I found it!
http://www.noreast.com/discussion/ViewTopic.cfm?page=1&startrow=201&topic_ID=5985

 

[wader]

When I fish with Captain B - they simply take a saw to the head & remove it behind the gill plate - then remove all of the internal organs & ice it.

 

[sakroc]

And cutting the head off and taking out the insides effectively bleeds the fish? Who knew?

 

[FredyFluke]

Head off ??

I thought it was illegal to remove the head or butcher the fish until it was on land.

??

 

[MakoMike]

Freddy,
Definately not illegal, the only requirement is that you have leave the pectoral fins on.

 

[FredyFluke]

identification

Mike, thanks

I guess that leaving the pec's is for identification purposes, but still do not see how a curved fork measurement can be accuratly taken on a fish with no head.
Does this apply to all pelegics or just tuna ??

 

[MakoMike]

Freddy,
Just tuna. I'd guess that the curved fork legnth can easily be estimated by adding the average size head of the particular species. Besides, anyone who keeps one that's below the minimum legnth without the head, deserves the fine.

 

[togmaster]

other ways

posted 08/20/2002 02:05 PM
Freddyfluke wrote:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
identification

Mike, thanks

I guess that leaving the pec's is for identification purposes, but still do not see how a curved fork measurement can be accuratly taken on a fish with no head
WELL FREDDIE THE ONLY 2 TUNA THAT WOULD NEED A CHECK ARE THE BIG EYE AND YELLOW FIN. THAT CAN BE TOLD BEST BY THE INTERNAL BONE AROUND THE GILL PLATE.
I ACTUALLY FOUND THIS OUT FROM COASTGAURD WHILE THEY BOARDED US FOR AN INSPECTION. THERE IS A DIFFRENCE BETWEEN A CERTIAN PART ON THE INSIDE OF THE FISH THAT CAN IDENTIFY THE 2. SO THE PEC FIN IS NOT LEFT ON FOR IDENTY ALWAYS.

 

[MakoMatt]

Togmaster, why wouldn't a length check be needed for Bluefin Tuna?

 

[618053]

Hey guy's,

In regards to meeting minimum length on a tuna with the head removed, the regs say that you should measure from the pectoral fin insertion to the caudal keel (fork in the tail) and multiply that number by 1.35. If this number is equal to or greater than the minimum legal size of the tuna your permit allows, you may cut the head off. You can find a very useful link on the NMFS Permits website which goes over this and much more. It's geared more toward those with commercial pursiuts but the above method applies to recreational and general permit holders. Page 5 covers the above.

www.nmfspermits.com/other/comguide.pdf

Good luck all and be safe....

 

[MakoMatt]

My previous question was perhaps rhetorical, but with all due respect to BiminiTwist, I would not take that information to the bank. Although I know of people who have removed the heads from tunas without incident, there may have been reasons why, i.e., a fish within a certain size class may be obvious that it cannot be larger or smaller then the law states. It also may be legal for someone with a Recreational Permit to remove the head, however, what BiminiTwist said is not exactly correct. The website he refers to is not "geared more toward those with commercial pursuits", it is the Commercial Compliance Guide. The reason the commercial guys are allowed to do this has to do with bringing the freshest product to market, and a vessels hold capacity for extended trips. If you visit - www.nmfspermits.com/other/recguide.pdf this takes you to the Recreational Compliance Guide. From there you can read, and I quote, "For enforcement purposes, curved fork length is the SOLE criterion for determining the size class of Atlantic tunas". I don't think anyone would give you a hard time if you had a tuna with the head removed and the fish obviously could not have been close to a 27" or 73" fish, however, you never know. I like to weigh all my fish so this is not a problem for me.

Tight lines

 

[MakoMike]

Makomatt,
so you don't care about bringing the frshest possible fish home? You have unlimited storage on your boat? On my boat, unless we haul out the canyon bag, every tuna that comes aboard gets bled immediately ad then the head comes off and it gets packed in ice in one of two 162 Qt. igloos. Leaving the heads on I wouldn't be able to get more than 2 fish in each cooler. with the heads off I can fit 3-4 inn each, depending on size. With the head off I can also fit fish in the cooler that otherwise wouldn't fit. I don't keep fish anywhere near the 27 inch limit, so establishing curved legnth isn't a problem fo me.

 

[MakoMatt]

I spoke with Brad McHale, NMFS Tuna Division concerning the Recreational Compliance Guide and he said although it does not say it is OK to remove the head from tuna under that section, he said it is OK to do so. He went on to say that for the smaller tunas he would advise leaving the head on to avoid any possible problems with enforcement.

 

[MakoMatt]

MakoMike,

Excuse me, but perhaps you could tell me where I mentioned anything about not wanting to bring home fresh fish? I bleed my fish right away but for other reasons I leave the head on so that I can get a weight, although not 100% correct after bleeding. The fish I bring back are plenty fresh and I doubt anyone could tell the difference in the taste, quality, etc. As for having unlimited storage on my boat, trust me, I don't. I fish a 26' Grover and it is an organizational nightmare of a boat.

An observation and question: You seemed very concerned with "bringing the frshest possible fish home". Based on what you said you put in your coolers, I would think you eat quite a bit more of frozen tuna then fresh tuna. Question: Do you feel you are contributing to the demise of this fishery by probably taking so many more fish then you can possibly use?

Tight lines

 

[MakoMike]

Matt,
You said something to the effect that the commercial guys are more concerned with freshness and therefore take the heads off then you said that you don't take the heads off and weight the fish. That implies two things for me 1) you don't gut the fish and 2) you're not as concerned with quality as the commercial guys. BTW- if you don't gut the fish before icing you'll never have commercial quality tuna, you're not lowering the core temperature fast enough. As for what I catch and what I do with it, I follow the rules and what I do with the fish is nobody's business but my own.

 

[FredyFluke]

Huh ??

OK, so I am still a little confused.

If it is OK to take off the head (and the gill plates go with it) how then can they still identify the fish based on what Togmaster said ??

Tog,
Why would it not relate to all tuna, not just the BET & YFT.

I thought there was a difference between YFT and BFT in the gill rakings too..