from hook to pot: killing, cleaning, preserving and preparing

first of all: can i keep this fish?

Keep only what the rule allows and what you will eat. Check on the spot, while the fish is still alive: if you can't keep it, you can still release it.

1. Measure the total length, from the tip of the snout to the tip of the tail, and compare it with the minimum (and maximum, if there is one) size for the species in your state.
2. Check whether it is closed season for that species and that place.
3. Respect the bag limit. Under the federal rule, each recreational angler may transport up to 10 kg plus 1 specimen from rivers, lakes and estuaries, and up to 15 kg plus 1 specimen from the sea. Several states are stricter, and some do not allow taking native fish home.
4. Threatened or prohibited species: release it on the spot, carefully.
5. At a pond, the house rule applies: pay for the weighing before you leave.

quick and humane killing

Fish feel pain and stress. Letting them die suffocating, thrashing in a bucket or on the ground is suffering, and it also spoils the meat faster. Embrapa recommends stunning every fish that is going to be killed, as soon as it comes out of the water, with a blow to the head, and bleeding it right after.

1. Keep a smooth stick at hand, without points and easy to wash (a fishing club will do).
2. Hold the fish firmly on a stable surface, wrapped in a wet cloth.
3. Give a strong, sharp blow to the top of the head, just above and behind the eyes, where the brain is.
4. Check: the eyes stop moving and the fish is motionless. If there is still movement, repeat right away.
5. Bleed it right away: with a clean knife, cut the large vessels at the nape or under the gills and let it drain, head down, into a bucket of clean water, for a few minutes.
6. Put it on ice.

ice: cool quickly

Fish spoil fast in the heat. After the kill, it goes on ice and stays covered until the kitchen.

transport within the law

Enforcement needs to identify the species and measure the fish. That is why the way you carry it matters.

cleaning: scaling and gutting

Work clean: washed hands, a sharp knife, a plastic cutting board (wood holds dirt) and drinking water.

1. Scale from tail to head, with a scaler or the back of the knife. Doing it inside a large plastic bag or underwater keeps the scales from flying.
2. Cut the fins with scissors. On tilapia, watch the dorsal fin spines; on mandi and catfish, cut the stings off with pliers.
3. Open the belly from the vent to the head, with the tip of the knife shallow so you don't puncture the guts.
4. Remove the guts and gills and scrape the strip of dark blood along the backbone.
5. Rinse inside and out with drinking water, dry with paper towel and return the fish to ice or the fridge.

tilapia fillet step by step

A tilapia fillet is white, firm and boneless. With a sharp, flexible knife, it takes a few minutes.

1. If you are going to remove the skin, there's no need to scale it. Lay the fish on its side.
2. Make a cut behind the head and the pectoral fin until you feel the backbone.
3. Turn the blade toward the tail and run along the backbone, with the knife almost flat, in long cuts.
4. Go over the ribs or work around them, and release the fillet.
5. To remove the skin: lay the fillet skin side down, hold the tip of the tail and slide the knife between the skin and the flesh, pulling the skin.
6. Repeat on the other side. Rinse quickly, dry and store it in the cold.

at home: fridge, freezer and stove

The WHO's five keys to safe food apply to fish: keep everything clean, separate raw from cooked, cook thoroughly, store at the right temperature, and use safe water and raw materials.