Inshore Fishing
Initial Quality
Handling
Stowage
The advice in this leaflet is intended as a guide for all those who make fishing trips of two or three days or less in vessels of less than 80 feet in length; it should be of particular help to those who make very short voyages to grounds only a few miles from port.
There is no difference in intrinsic quality between fish caught on inshore grounds and fish of the same kind, size and condition caught in deeper waters; there is no evidence for the belief that inshore fish will not keep well when properly looked after. Inshore fish, however, are often of small size and full of food, and these will spoil more quickly than large fish with empty stomachs.
Round fish without ice may look very attractive when landed a few hours after catching, and may taste good if eaten right away but if they have to travel long journeys overland to the customer these desirable characteristics are quickly lost if the fish are not gutted and iced as soon as they are caught.
The fish you are handling is food - treat it as such.
Thoroughly clean the deck, deckboards and baskets before you bring fish on board. If your vessel is undecked, provide a clean container in which to drop your fish.
Wherever practicable, gut your fish immediately after catching.
Remove all the gut and liver - bad gutting may be worse than not gutting at all.
Do not make too long or too ragged a belly cut - cuts into the flesh cause fish to go bad more quickly, and a badly cut fish may also be useless for smoking.
Try not to drop guts on top of other fish - this contaminates the fish and speeds their spoilage - put the guts in a basket or throw them overside.
Don't trample on the fish nor kick them about, because this may damage the fish and cause them to spoil more quickly.
Don't put fresh fish on top of older fish awaiting gutting and stowage - always deal with the oldest fish first.
Gut and stow small fish before large ones - the small ones spoil more quickly.
Gut your fish while they are still alive if possible - the flesh will be whiter if the heart continues to pump out the blood.
If fish have to lie on deck for some time before you gut them, protect them by an awning or cover of some sort - don't leave them exposed on the open deck, particularly in the heat of the sun.
Wash the gutted fish to remove blood and offal - rinse the large ones individually by hand, paying particular attention to the belly - small fish can be washed in open mesh baskets or in a tank with running water.
Drain the fish well before you put them away - don't leave a lot of dirty water among the fish.
Gutting and washing are all the more important if you have to stow the fish without ice.
As soon as the deck is clear of fish, wash it down in readiness for the next haul.
If you have a decked vessel with a proper fishroom, stow your fish in ice as quickly as you can - make sure your fishroom is clean before you start.
Adequate icing is essential even though you may be landing in a short time - fish begin to spoil as soon as they are dead, and they go off five times more quickly at 50°F - the temperature on a cool day - than at the temperature of melting ice.
Always use clean, fresh ice - discard dirty ice or ice left over from a previous trip.
Use small cobbles of crushed ice or flake ice - large pieces mark the fish and do not cool so efficiently.
Put your fish in clean boxes with a layer of ice at the bottom of the box, ice mixed through the fish and a layer of ice on top.
Even if your fish have not been gutted, it is still wise to ice them.
Do not overfill a box such that another box stacked on top of it can squash the fish.
Do not pack your fish so tightly that melt water cannot flow - the fish are cooled more rapidly if the ice-cold water runs over each of them but fish in a puddle of stagnant water and blood can spoil quickly.
Lay the fish with bellies downwards so that puddles of dirty water cannot lie in them.
Lay battens on the floor of your fishroom to carry the first tiers of boxes - this keeps the fish away from the warm bottom of the ship and prevents bilge water from contaminating them.
If you have plenty of ice, put ice between these bottom battens.
Keep boxes off the engine-room bulkhead by fitting vertical battens - ice between the battens will help to prevent heat coming in.
Insulation all round the fishroom will help to protect your catch and give some insurance against inadequate icing - if you use aluminium boxes insulation is even more necessary.
Keep skates, rays and dogfish separately from other fish - they quickly form ammonia which will taint the rest of your catch if you don't.
Keep coalfish separately - they may discolour other fish.
If little or no ice remains among the fish when you land, then you have not iced them enough - always use too much ice rather than too little.
Fish that are landed without ice will be too warm, and may continue on the inland journey without ice, to the detriment of your catch.
If ice is not available at your port find out if there is sufficient support among the other catchers and merchants for a small ice plant, perhaps on a co-operative basis - the improvement in quality can be well worth while.
If your vessel is an undecked one without a proper fishroom, box your fish with ice just the same and protect the boxes with a cover of some kind - you can carry ice out to the grounds in your empty boxes.
If you stow fish without boxes, do not bulk them in deep layers - they will be squashed, lose weight, become unattractive in appearance and lose value.
Wherever you stow your fish, keep the structure clean, and pay particular attention to bilges and drainage.
In Conclusion
Remember - Cleanliness, Care and Cooling - for first
class fish - these are as important to the fisherman who lands fish only a few
hours out of the sea as to the fisherman who is away from port for days or even
weeks.
