Tuna is one of the most popular and prized fish worldwide. This powerful, fast-swimming fish is a key part of cuisines and commercial fishing industries across the globe. But there’s one part of the tuna you likely won’t see on your dinner plate – the tail.
If you’ve ever seen whole tuna for sale at markets or prepared in restaurants, you’ll notice the tails are almost always removed. This peculiar practice leaves many wondering – why do they cut the tail off tuna? What purpose does this serve?
In this article, we’ll dive deep into the reasons behind the removal of tuna tails, examining how this process affects taste, quality, and handling. We’ll also look at how cutting tails benefits commercial fishing operations.
So let’s find out why this fishy practice is so ubiquitous when it comes to getting tuna to market!
Facilitating the Bleeding Process
The main reason tuna tails are removed is to aid in properly bleeding the fish after it’s caught. Proper bleeding is crucial for preventing lactic acid build-up that leads to stiff, discolored, bad-tasting meat.
When a tuna is reeled in after an exhausting fight, its metabolic rate is sky-high. Dragging it aboard immediately causes lactic acid to saturate the muscles By cutting off the tail, fishermen can bleed the tuna while it swims beside the boat and recovers strength
The tail area contains many arteries and veins close to the surface. Severing these blood vessels allows the blood to fully drain from the fish. Once bled, the meat retains its pristine quality.
Easing Handling & Transport
A tuna’s muscular, powerful tail makes up a sizable portion of its overall size and weight. Removing the tail provides several advantages for handling and transport:
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Reduces total weight, making the tuna easier to lift and move around
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Removes the awkward tail section that can get in the way when processing
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Allows the tuna to be packed into storage areas and containers more efficiently
For commercial fishing vessels and processors dealing with hundreds of large tuna daily, removing the tails significantly eases logistics and workload.
Improving Yields & Productivity
Processing tuna becomes much simpler without the tail section. The fish lays flatter on tables, allowing for easier, more ergonomic filleting. Cleaner cuts can be made without navigating around the tailbone.
Removing tails also boosts usable meat yields. The tail itself has minimal edible flesh, while discarding it provides better access to fillet the loins.
For canneries supplying global tuna markets, this increased processing productivity is crucial for meeting high demand efficiently.
Facilitating Inspection & Grading
In commercial tuna distribution, buyers inspect the tails to assess quality attributes like fat content, color, and freshness. This allows them to determine fair pricing for fishermen.
With the tail removed, buyers can easily examine the cross-section of flesh and blood vessels. The size, shape and condition of the tail also indicates the overall health, age, and lifecycle stage of the tuna.
Preventing Tough, Poor Quality Flesh
The tail section of tuna contains sinewy, connective tissues. These parts become tough, rubbery, and undesirable when cooked. Removing the tail prevents these less palatable sections from ending up in final products.
For sashimi or raw preparations, the tender loins are far preferable. Even when canned, the extra collagen-rich flesh from tails can cause mushy, stringy consistency.
Tail Sections Not in Demand
Unlike torpedo-shaped tuna loins, the tail flesh is not highly valued. It’s relatively meager in quantity, with an unappealing tapered shape. This makes it hard to produce marketable cuts compared to the succulent fillets.
Since the tails don’t generate much profit, processors discard them as waste along with fins, heads, and viscera. The effort to salvage tail meat isn’t worth the minimal usable flesh.
Tradition & Culinary Consistency
Always serving tuna without the tail is now customary in most cuisine. Chefs and consumers expect a certain tail-less presentation. Leaving tails attached could be perceived as sloppy or amateurish.
Menus and recipes also portion and cook tuna based on tail-less loins. Keeping tails on would require significant adjustments to long-established culinary practices.
Differentiating From Other Fish
Tuna’s distinctive bullet shape is part of what makes it immediately recognizable even when uncooked. The angular, squared-off head end contrasts against the elegant, tapered tail end.
Removing the tail transforms tuna into a unique cylindrical shape unlike any other fish. This helps identify it at a glance when brought to market and once on the plate.
Summary: Vital for Quality and Commerce
While cutting off tuna tails may seem peculiar initially, it’s a vital step to deliver high quality, great tasting seafood. The many benefits it provides for bleeding, handling, yield, and assessments make it an essential part of commercial tuna fisheries operations.
Tuna without tails also meets culinary preferences and provides familiarity for chefs and consumers alike. So while it may look strange, this fishy practice is here to stay as an integral part of getting tuna from seas to plates around the world!
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FAQ
Why do they cut tuna when they catch them?
How are tuna killed when caught?
Is tuna tail good?
Why are tuna tails cut off?
Tuna tails are cut off during the preparation process to facilitate the bleeding process. When a tuna is caught, it is often exhausted and has a high metabolic rate, which can lead to a build-up of lactic acid in the muscle tissue. This can spoil the quality of the meat if the tuna is brought aboard immediately and bled.
Why do you cut off a fish tail?
By cutting off the tail, the arteries in the tail are exposed, making it easier to sever them and allow the blood to flow out of the fish. This helps to preserve the quality of the meat by preventing a build-up of lactic acid in the muscle tissue, which can spoil the taste and texture of the fish.
How do you Gaff a tuna?
They will often lie on their sides, exhausted and present a very easy target. Immediately after gaffing the tuna we will slip a tail rope over the tail using a second gaff to hold or pick up the tail.
How do you preserve a tuna tail?
Because of this, a tuna’s tail is easy to preserve, and although it takes a good amount of time to do it right, it is a fairly easy and inexpensive process. This is harder than you might think. A saw is my weapon of choice, but if all you have handy is a knife, make sure to cut the spine between two vertebrea.