3 Preparation Catching and cleaning fish Catching and preparing fresh fish As fish spoils very quickly, measures must already be taken on board the fishing boat to limit spoilage. First of all, the fish must immediately be kept out of the salt water so that the fish does not get contaminated by bacteria in the salt water. | 3 Preparation Catching and cleaning fish Catching and preparing fresh fish As fish spoils very quickly measures must already be taken on board the fishing boat to limit spoilage. First of all the fish must immediately be kept out of the salt water so that the fish does not get contaminated by bacteria in the salt water. Apart from preventing contamination one should also prevent outgrowth of bacteria which are already present. The best way is to remove the intestines and gills of the fish on board the fishing boat. After that the fish must be washed with clean water to rinse off any blood or other remains. It is recommended to transport the fish on ice to shore. However cleaning and transporting the fish on ice is often difficult and expensive to realize. All that can be done then is to transport the fish as quickly and carefully as possible to the shore. To prevent the bacteria in the intestines liver gills and on the skin of the fish from increasing the fish must be kept in a clean boat and in the shade. Cleaning fish To clean fish first of all one needs good and clean tools. Personal hygiene is also important see Chapter 2 . It is important that the fish is not cleaned on the ground but on a clean table or bench. The table should be at working height and can be made of wood metal or concrete. The surface of the table must be smooth and easy to clean. It is also handy to clean the fish on a cutting board so that the table is not damaged. Knives are the most important tools for cleaning fish. Short knives are used for small kinds of fish long flexible knives to fillet larger kinds of fish and a thick strong knife to cut open large fish. The knives must be sharp. 16 Preservation of fish and meat To salt dry and smoke fish it is important that the surface area of the fish be increased. Then the salt and smoke particles can penetrate easily into the fish and moisture can work its way out. The method used to clean fish depends primarily on the size and kind of .
