HOW TO PRESERVE THE SPEARED FISHES

TECHNICAL ADVICES TO PRESERVE QUALITY

Eating fish is strongly recommended by all experts as it is a supplying source of some essential proteins and fatty acids for our body. However these elements can only be assimilated from the fish if the latter is correctly preserved so what should we do in order to accomplish such a goal?

On the internet we can find a lot of advices but they are not always correct so this article is aimed to provide a guideline on the topic in order to destroy the false myths available in chats, forums etc. 

KILLING AND GUTTING

The first step to take into account for a good preservation is the immediate killing of the prey. According to old beliefs if you let the fish die slowly, its flesh will be better preserved as the fish is kept alive for a longer time. Unfortunately its struggle together with the stress for the capture cause an increased production of lactic acid that gets gathered in the flesh providing it with a bad taste.

In order to avoid this you would better get the prey back as soon as possible and kill it right after; don’t worry a sit appears that recent studies have confirmed that fishes do not feel pain and an immediate killing is even better from an ethical point of view.

Thereafter you should gut the fish so that the flesh does not assimilate the bowels taste and smell. Bear in mind that even if the spear does not pass through the bowels somehow, the assimilation process takes place the same, so whether you hit it on the back or in the eyes you should gut it the same.

Obviously this will not always be possible, specially with some kinds of preys so all these advices should be considered as the top you should tend toward.

PRESERVATION

The best would be killing the fish, gutting it, wrapping it into a rag soaked in sea water and  putting it into the fridge at 4°C  (and eat it within two days), but besides those few lucky fishers who have a boat with a refrigerator system how can common people overcome the problem?

For all fishers provided with a boat a portable camping fridge might represent a good solution but you need to know how to use it. First of all the fish should neither touch any icy surface nor be submerged in icy cold water because its flesh might be damaged or literally “cook”.

It must stay in a cold environment and not close to something cold for this reason you should fill the coolbox with plastic bottles filled with frozen water and carefully keep them separated from the fish through the use of soaked rags (sea water).

For those who fish only with the buoy the only way to try to preserve the integrity of the preys is to hook them to a cord at least three metres below the surface, especially during the summertime.

FREEZING

It is a common opinion that some preys have a better taste once they are eaten after freezing. This is true as during the freezing time the flesh hangs becoming higher and the octopus is clear example of this. However also in this case some rules must be followed in order to preserve the quality.

Fishes should be eaten within six months from the date of freezing and the defrosting process should take at least twelve hours prefererably in the fridge and they should always be wrapped into the usual soaked rag.

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