Humanely killing fish

[TLewis]

Hi all,
I have a major issue with inflicting unnessary suffering upon any living thing let alone fish. It's something that I've always wrestled with. (Fortunately I don't catch enough to be a serious problem - He He)

Seriously though, I found a thread here about killing Flathead humanely and it seems from the posts that the most acceptable way is to dunk the flattie into a slurry of crushed ice in an esky.

Can someone tell me if that really is the most suitable way to put ALL species of fish down. If not, which really is the best way?

Thanks all (I hate cruelty)
Tony

[Gagga08]

I personally don't kill fish very often as well, as i'm largely a catch and release angler. But occasionally if i catch a nice flatty or whiting I will taking it home. I find the best way to kill them is to use the old whacking stick method. A precise blow to the head with a blunt object will quickly kill any species. Aim just behind their eyes, I find this knocks them out quickly. I also like to fillet the fish straight away too, then put them on ice. If your gunna go to all the trouble of catching a fish for the table you may as well keep it as fresh as posible.

[Benno1]

ive heard of that method TL...have'nt practised it tho...you could give it a go...if you can handle watching/timing how long it take for the fish to expire in the extremely cold water...i personally go for the quick cut under the gill line...yes they do thrash for a bit...then straight into the kill bin...then into the slurry...works for us...far from humane i know...what about the iri kiri (correct spelling)...the brain spike???

[TLewis]

Thanks Gagga08
I'm concerned that I might miss a good hit while trying to stop getting spiked.
Any other ideas fro others?

PS: How do I formally thank respondents to posts and threads? I notice that in the left hand profile there are spots referring to thanks etc but I can't find where to use it?

[Orrsum]

see the thumbs up on the bottom ot the thread give it a push....that should do it.

[rhycebullimore]

ikijimi spike (i think i spelt it right). basically a screwdriver sharpened to a point then inserted behind the eye of most fish, piercing the brain/nervous system killing the fish instantly, giving you perfect fillets as the heart actually stops pumping blood. i have done this to a 15kg spainard from full thrashing to not even a gill movment in under 5 secsonds.

[Scott nthQld]

Personally, I just cut the throat, kills fairly quick, but also bleeds the fish, giving a much better tasting flesh. If the heart is still pumping, you will get more blood out of the flesh making for a tastier fillet. You can also go one step further, and cut through the spine, makes death almost instantaneous and the fish bleed out faster, but depending on the size of the fish and how much you want to blunten your knife, sometimes its best to leave that option.

Not the most humane way, but a good compromise between table quality and being humane. Other my disagree, but I only speak from my own personal experience.

Bitey things with circular saws in their mouth cop an accurate, sharp blow to the head with a club, that sorts them out quick smart.

Another tip, when bleeding your fish, do it in some water, they bleed out faster and the water stops the blood from clotting, allowing you to get them into the slurry faster.

[For Steve]

I can relate to this. I love catching them and eating them but really struggle with doing the job of killing them.

Iki Jimi is the way to go. It's like a stainless steel screwdriver sharpened to to point. Push into the "temple" of the fish. It seems quite clinical and kills them very quick. The general rule is slightly behind and above the eye but this varies depending on the species of fish. I mainly keep snapper and you can feel the "temple" quite easily with them laying on their side. Not sure about flathead - perhaps through the top of the head between the eyes???

Here's a link: http://www.fish.gov.au/manual/preparation.php#iki

Cheers
Brad

[jtpython]

I use a long mouth pair of wiss snips they cut the throat clean and fast and then cut the fin let bleed into a kill bin then straight into the esky is quick and simple
Cheers
jt

[TLewis]

Thanks For Steve
Steve, I have copied the text from fish.gov.au about humanely killing fish below for anyone that might be interested. I found it enlightening and I will use that method in future unless anyone can offer good reason why not.
Cheers mate
Tony

To Kill Finfish Using Iki Jime
For maximum product quality and minimum stress to a finfish the iki jime (live killing) method can be used. This instant killing method reduces the accumulation of waste products in the flesh, minimises physical damage (including the loss of scales) caused by the animal’s sometimes violent body movements and keeps the finfish intact apart from a small hole in the head. For best effect the fish must be bled and chilled in an ice slurry immediately after it has been spiked.

In iki jime (pronounced “ick-ee jee-mee”) a spike or awl is inserted directly into the brain causing immediate brain death and the cessation of all motion. Iki jime also prolongs the process of rigor mortis—the natural stiffening of muscle tissues after death. Deterioration of flesh quality occurs mainly after rigor mortis, so delaying the onset and process of rigor mortis through “quick kill and chill” techniques produces a higher-quality product with a longer shelf life.

Some practice is required to perfect the iki jime technique. The position and angle of spike entry required differs between species and one example of each species may need to be cut lengthwise through the head to locate the position of the brain. When spiked correctly, a fish will exhibit a short but violent convulsion (due to the physical stimulation of the brain) before relaxing.

To use the iki jime technique:
Hold the fish firmly and insert a spike into the brain. This should be done as soon as possible after capture.
Bleed the fish by cutting through the top of the gills. Access the gills by lifting the gill cover.
Place the fish in an ice slurry. Use mostly freshwater and freshwater ice to produce a slurry with the consistency of wet concrete and a temperature between –1°C and +4°C for no more than 2 hours.
Remove fish from the ice slurry and process further or store as required.

[blueboy]

Hi Tony, Like you I try to be as humane as I possibly can. I am happy to say I am releasing more and using barbless hooks. As I also like a feed of fish, as soon as I have a "keeper" in the boat, I immediately cut it's throat and break it's neck by firmly bending it's head back. Sounds gruesome but it's all over in seconds. Cheers, Greg

[Ryan.S]

I just slit the throat with a fillet knife, seams to be a quick way. The brain spike method would be quicker i guess, a sharpened screwdriver in the boat sounds a bit dangerous but. No more than a knife i guess but.

[wilcara]

I wonder what is the difference between the icky jimmy thing and just a poke with a fillet knife to the same spot?

[Poodroo]

I have always struggled with the fact that I have to kill a beautiful creature in order to put a feed on the table but I love eating fish too much to not go through with it so I made some inquiries as to what would be the best way some years ago. I have worked in the Aquarium industry for several years (recently returning back to the industry) and I have had the pleasure of working alongside one if not the best and most knowledgeable men in the business. What this man doesn't know about fish is simply not worth knowing. He has taught me several things over the years including how to determine the cause of death via autopsy. Now occasionally we are faced with people bringing in their most adored prize aquarium fish which they have nurtured for several years and grown to near full size but the fish has developed a debilitating disease and needs to be humanely put down. So I ask my mentor just how do we acheive this without making the fish suffer any further? Next I get this long winded and very interesting lecture on the fish nervous system including diagrams produced from his age old collection of books (He is around 80 years of age and still sharp as a tack) and he also covers the metobolic system that fish have. Now he assures me that the fish do not feel a lot of pain but they do sense discomfort. His short answer was the most humane way to distroy a fish was to freeze them because it slows their metabolism right down and they do not sense pain during this process but rather go to sleep. I trust his judgement and wealth of knowledge and have been putting my catches into an ice slurry in the esky since.


Poodroo

[Outsider1]

Thanks Poodro,

I use that method for crabs. Put them in a plastic bag and tie it up to effectively truss them and then into the freezer so they can go off to "sleep" Works a treat and no thrown claws or legs.

A bit hard to do out on the boat though. I have thought about keep them (fish) alive in the bait well but from what I have read this can stress them and reduce the quality of the flesh. So I break the throat and bleed them. Seems to be the quickest and most humane way other than Iki Jimi which needs to be practiced to get right.

Cheers

Dave