Finishing the Fish...

[ILDiver]

I was reading the latest Hawaii Skin Diver and one of the Yellowtail articles. The author mentions that when he kills the YT he cuts the gills and bleeds it out. Then if there is no danger he will gut the fish and removes the blood sacks. Then he de-scales the fish, removes the head and tail and puts it on ice. All this is to maximise taste and freshness

I've watched several Ocean Hunter shows, youtube videos and some DVDs. I never see anyone go through all this. I attribute that to the need to put the fish on camera. But does anyone do this? Is this just for YT or is it good to do this with most fish?

Just curious, thanks for your time.

--Chris

[atomichaggis]

Bleeding and gutting stop the flesh being tainted from unpleasant flavours. With most fish its not entirely necessary but with some its essential.
Certain Tuna species require immediate bleeding and gutting (removal of bloodline too). Cartilage fish also need immediate bleeding or they will smell and taste like ammonia.
Salmon needs bled as the clotted blood ruins the taste of the flesh, its usually hung from a tree with the gills removed.
White fish like atlantic cod benefit from bleeding and gutting but its not entirely necessary... haddock on the other hand need gutting and cleaning.

[ILDiver]

atom, thanks for the reply. Is there any benefit to bleeding out other fish?

[atomichaggis]

In theory Yes but unless You need some extra shelf life or have as educated a palate as Foxfish then many fish just aren't worth bleeding.
Of course It differs fish by fish and I'm not familiar with species other than North Sea and Atlantic ones but You can probably find out what commercial fishers or farmers are doing with the species You go after by doing some searching.