>>where hagfish will scoff what they can<<
Guess who eats the hagfish... ;>)
Hagfish a hot new catch
thedailyworld.com
By Terry Loney - Daily world writer
Saturday, March 31, 2007 11:23 PM PDT
Westport — Hagfish, commonly called slime fish, are generally referred to as the most disgusting fish in the sea.
But South Koreans like the flavor. And that is what matters to the Westport fishermen who have begun to tap into the new fishery in the last couple of years.
John Edwards, 65, who owns the fishing boat Annihilator — a trawler, said currently there is not a lot of money in the fishery.
“It is in its infancy, and it’s got potential,” he said. But right now “it is just a little bit better than picking … cans up off the road.”
Edwards said he opted to try the fishery after he sold his crab permit last year. Edwards has been fishing for hagfish since Jan. 1.
While there is not a lot of money to be made from hagfish, the expenses associated with fishing for them are pretty low.
“It is an inexpensive fishery,” Edwards said.
The bait is cheap and not a lot of gas is needed, so a small profit can be made from it, he said. “Compared to other fisheries, your net (income) is pretty good.”
Tamy Back, from South Korea, buys the hagfish Edwards and his crew catch.
He said people in South Korea like to barbecue hagfish or use them to make soup.
Back owns and operates Hana International, which has offices in the United States and in South Korea.
The hagfish — which look like a large slug or an earthworm with an odd-looking head — are packed in water, given oxygen, covered in ice and shipped in a Styrofoam box by plane.
About “120 to 140 fish per box,” Back said.
Typically 10 to 50 percent die in transit, Edwards said.
Back pays Edwards 90 cents per pound, or about $35 to $40 per box.
He sells them for about $45 to $50 a box, he said. “I don’t make much.”
To pack the hagfish for shipment, the ship’s crew and a couple of freelance dock workers, have to separate the fish from the slime they produce.
Hagfish exude voluminous amounts of a sticky slime when captured and held by the tail. It turns into a thick and sticky gel when combined with water.
An adult hagfish can secrete enough slime to turn a large bucket of water into a gel in a matter of minutes.
Sam Martin, a crewman on the Annihilator, said the fish are “pretty nasty.”
“It is a pretty gnarly fishery,” he said. “They are the ugliest thing I have seen in a while.”
Edwards said he has been thinking about seeing if the Discovery Channel’s “Dirty Jobs” host Mike Rowe would like to feature the fishery on the show.
“I am sure he would jump at it,” he said.
Hagfish are caught using a method similar to that used for crab fishing.
Large plastic pickle barrels are used as traps, Edwards said, adding he uses about 60 on a fishing trip.
Large holes are drilled in the sides, a set of three on opposite sides. Each is fitted with a plastic, cone-shaped “door.”
“You put bait in the barrels, and then you set them,” Edwards said, adding he uses a combination of sardines and chicken — though they will “eat just about anything.”
The barrels are strung on a line — about 20 fathoms apart (120 feet) — and set between 50 and 100 fathoms down about 20 miles off shore, he said. “You let them sit for about 10 hours, then you go back and haul them up.”
The fish swim in the door, and the flaps that form the cone snap shut behind them — trapping them.
Smaller holes are also drilled all over the sides of the barrel to let water out as they are pulled out of the water.
“The smaller (hagfish) can swim out of those holes,” Edwards said.
Each barrel will hold 100 to 300 pounds of hagfish, he said, adding he catches about 2 1/2 to 7 tons a trip — depending on how long he fishes.
Years ago hagfish were sought for their skins off the West Coast.
“They made purses and wallets out of them,” Edwards said.
But the skin proved to be too thin and the fishery was abandoned, he added, saying some species of hagfish in the Atlantic Ocean are still sought for their skins.
Terry Loney, a Daily World writer, can be reached at 532-4000, ext. 137, or by e-mail: tloney@thedailyworld.com |
