Posts by Silentstoning

  • Iki Jime

    Dan, with these fish (tuna) going for $50k easy I'd say the time is not wasted. Some fish even hit a million. It is a necessary process for sashimi grade fish. These guys that go out to the auctions, as Philippe had mentioned, are ruthless. They have such a high standard that if you were to take even the slightest shortcut they would notice.


    This process (which is actually the Tanguchi method) stops the lactic acid from traveling to the meat providing a fresher fish that will keep longer. If you've ever gone into a sushi restaurant and noticed a stench of fish when you go in only to come out disgusted that is where you notice the difference. Besides, with an outfit like the guys I posted getting it done in under 2 minutes I think they would find it well worth their time for that extra few thousand.

  • Iki Jime

    Philippe, those auctions seem like quite an experience. I would love to go to one of those just to spectate.


    With regard to iki jime and a spearo's application of the practice, I believe we could successfully carry out the process in a modified manner. Clearly not in the same fashion as any of the videos I had provided as examples. We don't have the luxury of an entire team plus we are in the water. Now I know there are so many scenarios where the practice would need to be further modified or completely impractical, but in an ideal situation I think we could easily carry out in this manner:
    - shoot/land fish
    - brain fish (in water)
    - return brained fish to boat
    - crew iki jime/bleed/ice


    Basically I figure the spearo eliminates the necessity for any clubbing by our field braining. The fish is then no longer thrashing (which as a bonus limits the amount of bruising which would otherwise need to be maintained by padding on deck) and the crew can safely carry out the remainder of the iki jime process throughout the entire spine. Of course, under different conditions, different fish, etc. these things would need to be modified, however, I believe the practice could still be carried out.

  • Iki Jime

    It was mentioned in a previous thread that many will send the wire through the hole created when braining the fish. Also that there are hollow tools that allow you to send the wire through that hole without having to remove the tool itself. I pasted a link to one such tool below. At the end of the page is a video of how the tool is used (couldn't find the video on YouTube to post directly here).


    All-in-One Ike Jime Wire Stick


    Here is the video for the tool.


    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=sTrPPGgkDCg

  • Iki Jime

    One last link for you guys and I'll leave you alone. This link is kind of cool. While most of us know where to send our knife/iki jime tool perhaps some newer guys do not. Most of us know about the little triangle we make from the eyes to find where the brain is. These guys took fish from various regions of the world and x-rayed them to determine exactly where the brain is located for that specific fish. Simply input your location and select the fish you are looking for.


    From CA so I gave yellowtail a shot. Couldn't get the x-ray version to save. Kept saving the color version. But here is the color version.


    iki Jime | HUMANE KILLING OF FISH - FRESHWATER - ESTUARY - OFFSHORE Maximum quality, minimum fuss.


  • Iki Jime

    With Diving Geko having brought up iki jime and being ridiculously slow at work all I have done today was watch some (a lot of) videos. More iki jime videos than spearfishing videos today even.


    I know this is clearly a farm, but I thought their process was very fast and efficient. Thought I'd share with you all. Not sure if you guys are as fascinated by the process as I am.


    http://https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=DWveuyCPnEI

  • Yellowfin tuna spearfishing vid

    Dan, I think that was wonderfully put. Sharky waters your first thought is to get the fish out of the water. Being outside your home turf your first thought is keeping your captain and crew happy by not rocking the boat.


    I get blown away by those sashimi guys. The care they take in handling is impressive. To top it off they do it in record timing. I was semi-recently watching a sashimi market documentary. A single fish can go for an ass ton. That one was cool to watch.

  • Yellowfin tuna spearfishing vid

    Ha, I did catch the few strikes that didn't quite do the job plus the few that popped "back to life" on the boat. I am with you, I like a quick swift death. I will not pass judgment, however, as I presume he has his reasons (one being, as you mentioned, the bleeding process). Do the Japanese really iki-jime the whole spine on these big guys? I've seen them do it on smaller catch. Some of those guys are quite impressive with their skills of putting a fish down.


    What is the one reason you are thinking that isn't regularly discussed?