What do you do with a 500 pound TUNA?

Question

OK, it's a hot summer day, you're offshore fishing, and catch a 500 pound blue fin, or something similar. How do you keep it fresh till you're done fishing and get back to port? That thing ain't goin' in the ice chest!!

Answer 1

Fish don't rot immediately, so it's not a panic situation. If you don't have a fish box with ice and stuff, you can lay gunny sacks over the fish and keep it wet with a deck hose. The evaporation will keep the fish cool for a few hours and it will be fine when you get to the dock.

Nowadays, most of the San Diego offshore party boats have refrigerated holds, but 20+ years ago the fish (generally 15-30 pounders, albacore, yellowfin tuna, or yellowtail) were just kept in the wet gunny sacks through the day of fishing (and a 5-6 hour ride to the dock if you weren't having the fish cleaned on the way in), so you might hit the dock with fish which had been un-cooled for 12+ hours. There was never a real problem with the fish's quality -- it wasn't perfect, but it was far from inedible.

I would assume a big fish would keep at least as well as these smaller fish, and simply keeping it wet for a 2-3 hour ride in and photo session at the scales would be plenty to ensure its quality.

Answer 2

I've seen bluefin tuna up to 942 pounds brought into the Montauk, Long Island, marinas. The 942lb giant was brought back to the marina whole and in shape because the party that caught it wanted to take an endless amount of photographs of the beast on the scale and I think they sold it and brought back some. Once they landed the fish, they headed back to port, a two hour ride. The fish just laid there on the stern. Some who catch giant bluefin sell it to the auction house for about five dollars a pound.

Answer 3

If you are on a charter boat, they will have an ice chest big enough to handle that size. If you are in your own boat, then stop fishing and head to shore now. You want your trophy photo and have a lot of meat to harvest.

If you're in a small boat, the fish will probably win and want to know how to preserve the human it caught.

Answer 4

you have to keep that fish whole as a Japanese buyer may pay up to 50'000$ for it if it has the right amount of fat other wise it may sell for 6-8 $ a pound so either war you go home now and sell that fish collect your dough and go have blue fin at a fancy restaurant

Answer 5

Chop it up as best you can, discard the head and tail and fins, and put bags of ice around the fish and head into shore quickly!!

Answer 6

Eat it