cleaning a tuna

[twofinbluna]

the pec fin cut is to empty the air bladder not to bleed it. i only catch bluefin but i assume that the same thing happens with any tuna. dont plan on seeing any blood come out of the cut, but you will literally hear the air hiss out.

and you can wash them with as much water as needed. it doesnt hurt them at all. we only sell fish to the sushi market, know it well.

like others said, bleed it by cutting under the throat (heart is right there) and then cut the tail. then put on ice and treat properly.

[twofinbluna]

also, dont filet the tuna, quarter it. use the sharpest knife you can find and you will have a much easier time.

i dont see why anyone needs to rod the backbone if they are going to cut off the meat shortly after. we only do it because the fish needs to fly to japan and like someone said will be sitting around for a few days. if you are only eating it, you dont need to do anything other than bleed, then ice or even bleed than cut it up. only do all the steps if you plan on selling it as sushi. we have to go through all those steps but you would be nuts to unless you needed to.

also, if you do plan on dressing the fish completely, make sure you get all the guts out and there are a lot in there that dont come out easy. look especially for the air bladder which is a slimy, webbed sac that will be deflated if you poked the hole behnd the pec fin.

just take care of the fish and you will be ok. if you are sending to auction get first hand insturctions because we are talking about major price difference and in teh case of bluefin that can mean thousands of dollars between what a well hanlded fish and a porrly handled one.

[dtorbert]

You just filet them!

[Swordfisherman]

http://www.thefishingline.com/videos...eaningTuna.wmv

[Capt. Art]

Washing fish that has been skinned with fresh water insstantly changes the look and texture of the meat. It looks and feels less apetizing and does not taste nearly as good as meat that is only washed with clean salt water.

[Auguste]

Great thread guys . . . many thanks

[jcmcinni]

so ive done a considerable amount of research regarding the preparation of tuna to ensure sashimi grade (sushi) quality meat. now i am looking to find out the best place to buy a corer, spiker, and either 3.5 mm monofilament or the taniguchi wire that is inserted down the backbone....any help would be awesome!!

-Jake

[bndfishing]

Here is a great video out of Oregon on TUNA! carking
YouTube - Tuna Cleaning 102

[B767]

Originally Posted by bndfishing

Here is a great video out of Oregon on TUNA! carking
YouTube - Tuna Cleaning 102

Good one. Thx.

[bndfishing]

Originally Posted by jcmcinni

so ive done a considerable amount of research regarding the preparation of tuna to ensure sashimi grade (sushi) quality meat. now i am looking to find out the best place to buy a corer, spiker, and either 3.5 mm monofilament or the taniguchi wire that is inserted down the backbone....any help would be awesome!!

-Jake

On a pitching boat brain spiking can be a dangerous thing. We are now using a Phillips head screwdriver so you don't run the risk of stabbing yourself. From there it's cut the gills and pull the guts out and put them in a tank (2 garbage cans) of sea water and ice so you have a very cold slush. Cool the tuna for a while or until you have so many fish on deck you need the room, then pack with ice in the kill bags. If you can get shaved salted ice for your coolers that is the best ever.

[selsel]

does anybody know the rate of flesh of tuna to the whole body of it?
thank you...

[islandshark633]

2/3 flesh to 1/3 body for tunas 1/2 and 1/2 for dorado/wahoo

[Uncle Buck]

Originally Posted by Broadbill-Pro

you have either cleaned many a tuna or you found a japanese tuna cleaning book. your description was right on

I've never caught a large tuna, but I do the same to the football blackfins. I jam a knife behind the pec fin as soon as it hits the deck and put 'em head-down in a bucket for 5 mins before tossing 'em into a slushy saltwater/ice cooler. The difference when sashimi'd is literally light peach -vs- red.

[Catch-All]

no, No, NO! You've all got it wrong. "Cleaning tuna"? I use Gunk Auto Engine Degreaser.

Catch

[Captain Mike Ellis]

The best tool to have when tuna fishing is a tuna tap. You can order them from several different commercial fishing supply places. It is just a 1" or so blade cut on a 45 degree angle. All you need to do is lift the pec fin and intersect the little groove the fin lays in when it is against the body of the fish. I try and do this to cover about a 1/2" on the bottom of the groove to about 1/2" above the groove. So that it makes a t. And I also make this about a hands width from the fishes armpit. Let them bleed out then ice them down. A few hotel towels will keep the mess down if you cover the tuna with one. And never bleed them into the box the blood will melt your ice in a hurry. Another thing is try and hit thm in the head or gills with the gaff. If the tuna is bleeding pretty heavily just hold him on the gaff for a minute or two. With the trauma from the gaff shot his heart will be beating like crazy so let him pump the blood out of his system in the water before putting him in the boat. All of the other extra stuff is just a waste of time hell when they are biting you should be fishing and not performing something next to brainsurgery. At the dock I use a serrated Dexter Russel to quarter them up. Bag them and get them back on ice as quick as possible. This is the quickest and best way I have found to do it.
Capt. Mike

[kuijt]

A few weeks ago I started a website about filleting fish… On this page I show about 45 movies about different fishes and how to fillet those species. filleting-fish.com - Filleting-fish.com This is a pure informative website for the sportfisherman. I ll hope you can learn something on this page....

Look here for my tuna filleting video.

[NightCrawler]

nice!!

check this one out. coulda used this guy out friday!!!

YouTube - How to Filet a Mahi

[kuijt]

filleting-fish.com - Yellowfin Tuna Here you can see it in a movie! Enjoy!!