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What is the most humane way to kill fish you want to eat?

I usually catch and release, but occasionally i like to bring home and eat. I throw fish on ice right away, but is there a good way to kill fish so they don't have to freeze their *** off for 6 hours or whatever in the cooler.

I like to fish, but I do respect all life...even a fish

Update:

Just wanted to add I fish on a kayak, so don't have a ton of room

22 Answers

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  • 1 decade ago
    Favorite Answer

    im with you all the way dude. i usualy throw them in an ice chest and keep goin but honestly thats the only way i can think of unless you want to beat the crap out of them with a jaw breaker.

  • 1 decade ago

    The most effective AND humane way to dispatch a fish is to insert a sharp blade into the gills and hold the fish inverted. It will bleed out extremely quickly.

    I am 99% c&r. On the rare occasion I want to kill a fish, this is the the only way. There is no sense in smashing heads, sticking knives into the head (and usually missing the brain), or decapitation. And why the hell would someone put fresh fish on dry ice?

  • 1 decade ago

    Honestly I dont know. I have been fishing all of my life and I either throw them in the livewell (if tournament fishing) or in the livewell w/ ice in it(if i'm keeping them to eat) It won't take 6 hrs to kill them, more like 45 mins but I see your point. I know people that fish Offshore that carry small bats to beat a fish in the head, so I guess you could do that, but if you have room I would just throw them on ice. Remember Ice shrinks the fish so If there is a minimum size limit, don't cut it too close

    Source(s): Florida Fisherman
  • ?
    Lv 4
    4 years ago

    utilising a carbonated beverage is the best and painless approach. The fish purely bypass to sleep interior the same way vehicle fumes funneled decrease back right into a vehicle will reason dying in human beings. for optimum convenience heat the fizzy liquid to the temperature of the aquarium water. Flushing fish earlier dying sounds like an excellent thank you to bypass, however the chlorine out of your water will burn the gills.

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  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago

    Hit them once sharply on the back of the head with a heavy blunt object. It should kill it quickly. Fly fishing tackle shops sell a device to do this with called a "priest"

  • i know what u mean, im like u i love to hunt and fish, but i have great respect for the game, when i have a fish, i usually

    a) throw it in a cooler, they kinda just fade in and out, nothing like a human (fish breathe oxygen too, but their gills help them take it out of the water, so theyll kinda just pass out if they dont have any water)

    b) crush their head with a rock...but in a kayak... that might not work as well.

    c) take a knife, and run it into their brain/head

    i know it sounds kinda rough, but if ur brain is gone, so are u

    http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AtdVs...

  • 1 decade ago

    Kill them quickly, by whacking them on the head. Then put them on ice.

    It may seem nice to put them on ice and let them freeze "slowly", but changing the water temperature will shock them and they will notice. (It's why fish in the wild tend to stop feeding when the water temperature suddenly cools a couple of degrees.) And drawing out the process is not humane.

  • 1 decade ago

    Ice bath is the most human way to kill fish.

    Fish are cold blooded. When the temperature of their surrounding drops, their metabolism will slow down. If you put them in ice water, they will get into a hibernating state and fall asleep. Unfortunately, their heart rate will continue to drop as they sleep in the ice water and they will never wake up again. No pain. No blood. No wound. No dehydration. No suffocation. Just some discomfort due to a sudden drop in temperature. They will die in their sleeps and their flesh will be kept fresh in the process.

    PS: Ice will do the trick as well. But I am guessing direct contact with ice will cause more discomfort than ice water and they will feel suffocated for a while.

  • 1 decade ago

    Well I never really thought that much about it.

    We just put em on a stringer till were finished

    ( we dont have a boat ) and put the stringer in

    the truck and cut their heads off and start guttin.

    that way they go w/o water for about 15 minutes.

    I guess in PETA's eyes were just a bunch of

    terrible no good dirty rotten yada yada...

    Tie a stringer to the kayak let em follow you

    Hahaha.

  • 1 decade ago

    I usually stick a knife into the head. Instant. On bigger fish, my father has about a 14" aluminum bat he uses. They make bats that truckers use to check for air pressure in their tires. They work great as well.

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