North Australian FISH FINDER TM forums

out on the pro boat the brine has salt water which freezes at -7 and is different than freshwater ice slurry as there is the refridgeration panels creating the chill, did you make your own ice out there with salt water also which is the best to keep fish fresh which with fish on salt water ice it can last up to 21 days.When we first started fishing the box and all up the west coast we used to gut and gill all fish make sure there is no blood residue and make sure you get all the anal area as that is one of the first places for bacteria, solldier stack with salt water ice and then pack in cardboard boxes when we got to shore and send by air freight with no ice in the box. instead of bleeding fish try to spike the fish in the brain and then ice slurry if you get the fish right it works great I spike all fish I am going to keep. What boat were you on Seano I was on the first trap boat to start fishing the box

I worked on the Western Melody, San Pasquel, and the Starfire, over the years how the fish were treated has evolved and originaly all fish we gut and gilled ,when I started out at the Box they were brain spiked and the gill membrane cut but when I was last fishing out there- 5-6years ago they werent cut at all.

i was working on San pasquel when it first arrived in Darwin in 91 and we just spiked the fish, on the west coast we did not even spike or gut and gill, never bled them in 5 years of fishing on that boat we were mainly using winches on the side winding by hand and trap fishing was secondary fishing, I remember western melody not starfire all good times out there

Sprinkle salt over the top of the ice and it causes it to melt slightly and form a block rather then individual cubes