Ike Jime machine for commercial fishermen

[Decker]

I saw this on YT and found it interesting. 

I have never been one to practice such fish killing techniques, but see that some fishermen are bleeding their catch.  The brain puncture thing looks challenging.  I imagine bleeding is enough to stop internal processes within a few minutes.  I do love sushi, but have never eaten my own catch raw.   

What do others think? 

[oc1]

That's interesting; especially the part about aging the fish flesh.  But, I don't kill or eat wild fish any more.

[boon]

I've been brain spiking all my fish for a long time and I believe it makes a difference to the eating quality. Bleeding probably more-so, and from a humane angle I believe it's important to at the very least render the fish unconscious before bleeding it out. I have occasionally found that if I do too good a job of the brain spiking the fish doesn't bleed out very well because the fish becomes completely dead too fast.
The next level of this processing is doing true shinkei jime, where a wire is forced up the spinal cord to sever the nerves and prevent spasms and the onset of rigor. I've not gone this far down the rabbit hole yet but I know of people who swear by it, especially for fish like YT.

[jurelometer]

Agree with Boon. We have a couple threads on this.

It took me awhile to get the hang of it, but it isn't too tricky if you just do the spike and bleed. Making sure that the fish is rapidly chilled after bleeding is also critical. 

I just use an old screwdriver with a sharpened tip.

For most species it is easier to spike from the side.  Just follow the lateral line up the spot right behind the eye. Lots of resources on how to do it on the internet.

-J

[Gfish]

Kinna cruel, but I use the still beating heart to pump out most of the blood. Water emersion seems to help and cutting the artery between the gills and heart might keep the clotting factor from slowing the process. Next it's the guts, including what some call "the blood line", which is actually the kidney.
Then I move outta the area in case of Shark presence.  Gotta admit, I haven't done my due diligence by spiking the brain somewhere in the process, but will in the future.

Here, I've gone to keeping only Smaller Bluefin Travally, any Mahi-Mahi's and an occasional small Snapper. But not Grey Snappers as they get spear-hunt targeted. No Shibi's(small yellowfin tuna)yet, but I'd definitely keep one. There is possibility of Ciguterria(spelling?)poisoning especially with larger fish.

[jurelometer]

Kinna cruel, but I use the still beating heart to pump out most of the blood. Water emersion seems to help and cutting the artery between the gills and heart might keep the clotting factor from slowing the process. Next it's the guts, including what some call "the blood line", which is actually the kidney.
Then I move outta the area in case of Shark presence.  Gotta admit, I haven't done my due diligence by spiking the brain somewhere in the process, but will in the future.

Here, I've gone to keeping only Smaller Bluefin Travally, any Mahi-Mahi's and an occasional small Snapper. But not Grey Snappers as they get spear-hunt targeted. No Shibi's(small yellowfin tuna)yet, but I'd definitely keep one. There is possibility of Ciguterria(spelling?)poisoning especially with larger fish.

If you brain spike them, the heart keeps beating long enough to bleed the fish if you don't lollygag.  Spiking and then bleeding is purportedly the more humane way to go about it. 

-J

[the rockfish ninja]

I've been practicing Ike Jime since I went down the Slow Pitch jigging rabbit hole many years ago, and it has been the biggest difference in the quality of catch I've ever encountered.

Bonk,spike,bleed,ice will provide you the best quality of your catch, although I don't need a multimillion dollar machine to do it.

[JasonGotaProblem]

What's the appropriate way to bleed a fish? I usually just try to fillet early but I'm always looking for improvement.

[jurelometer]

What's the appropriate way to bleed a fish? I usually just try to fillet early but I'm always looking for improvement.

Filleting before bleeding leaves the blood in the flesh.  You need to sever a major artery on both sides of the fish while the heart is still pumping.

The easiest and most common way to do this is to cut  where the flesh joins the gills from top to bottom on both sides.  Submerge the fishes head in water, so that the clotting does not block  up the flow. This is important.    Flowing water or at least shaking the fish a bit during bleeding can  help too.

If you do it right, you will find the to flesh be much more translucent and less pink.  It will be obvious on white fleshed species.  The difference in taste and shelf life is huge.

There are quicker to execute methods, such as using wire cutters to sever multiple gills - I have used this when in a rush to get through a lot of fish.   There are also more complicated methods.  Some salmon fishermen somehow manage to use water pressure from  a needle hose tip to flush  the arteries with water (which seems like a contamination risk to me).  Tuna can be sliced behind the pectorals.   Also severing the tail is supposed to help bleed out the back end of the fish a bit better. The folk that eat a lot of sashimi are more likely to go the extra mile.

You will get the bulk of the benefit with the common method and a bucket full of water.  This could be a challenge in a partyboat situation if the crew does not support what I consider essential fish processing.

-J

[jurelometer]

Common bleeding method at the 2 minute mark in the video.  It also shows the shinkei-jime step of running the wire down the neural canal (which is also can be done via the tail.)

I think that the whole video is worth a watch to get the basic method down.  Note the deck bleeding technique of pinch and bend.   This is new to me.  It could also be useful when immersion is not an option.

Lots of dumbass videos out there where they do it pretty badly and/or less than optimally.  Even from some channels that should know better.

There are some published papers where scientists measured the muscle tension (i.e., the rigor mortis effect) in flesh after this process, and they did find a difference from the shinkei-jime step. This at least introduces the possibility of a benefit.   I remember reading a blind taste test from some chefs, and they couldn't identify a difference immediately or over a couple days of ageing, but this was only one test- I think on striped bass. But spiking and bleeding made a huge and obvious difference.   Haven't tried shinkei-jime myself.

And the steps of washing, gutting, bagging, ice/saltwater bath immersion are all worth consideration as well, especially for larger fish and/or warmer waters.

-J