BlueWater Boats & Sportsfishing – July 2019

W

e are incredibly fortunate to be able to

catchwhat are regarded as some of the

best eating fish in the world – southern

bluefin and yellowfin tuna – but it often

astoundsme howfew arelooked after in a waythat

maximisestheireatingqualities.

I love my fishing and I’m alsoa fish veterinarian,

consulting to some of the largest tuna farmers

in Australia, helping them keep their fish healthy

until they’re ready to harvest. Each of their tuna

is harvested in a way that ensures supreme eating

quality.WiththeproceduresI’llexplain,youcanalso

achievethesamequality– andbydoingso,you’llalso

respectthefish.

At themicroscopic level, themuscle of tuna is no

different to that of a cow, pig or chicken. It is the

muscle, or more correctly the skeletal muscle, that

we eat. The bodycontains several typesof muscle,

includingmusclesalongthegutthathelp digestand

movefoodalongtheintestine,andtheheartwhichis

madeof cardiacmuscle.

Fresh tuna is highly prized and can

be a delicious delicacy, yet most

anglers are robbed of much of its

quality through the way they prepare

their catch. Dr Paul Hardy-Smith is

a vet specialising in fish handling,

and in this ground-breaking article

he explains the destructive processes

initiated in tuna when you catch them,

and the procedure to prevent this and

ensure your tuna meat remains at

gourmet quality.

How youkilla coworpigwillimpactonhowit will

taste, andthesameappliesto fish– particularlytuna.

The lastgreatsteakyouatetasted sogoodbecause

of the waythecowwaskilledandhowthemeatwas

handledafterkilling.

Did youknowthatmusclefroma tunathathasbeen

caughtandproperlylookedaftercanactuallyimprove

bybeingkeptchilleda fewdays?Andoftenthebigger

Left: A cross-section of a southern bluefin tuna, clearly showing the two muscle

types: ‘white’ muscle (which consists mainly of fast twitch muscle fibres), and ‘red’

muscle (which consists mainly of slow twitch muscle fibres). Also shown is one of

the large blood vessels that run just under the skin. This is what we cut to most

effectively bleed a tuna.

Above: This is what your tuna steaks should look like if the fish is correctly bled

and iced.

Fish to be kept for

eating should be

gaffed in the head,

so none of the meat

is damaged.

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