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Do people eat marlin and does it taste good?

165K views 36 replies 26 participants last post by  Saluki 
#1 ·
I thought I might ask. All ones I have seen are hanging at a landing and I would guess somewhat ripe. Are they good to eat when handled right?
 
#4 ·
>I've eaten smoked Blue Marlin & it was pretty good.
>
>Lots of better eating fish though, IMO. I'd rather T&R the
>stickfish & filet up a nice batch of Calicos... }(

Gosh Rick,
Wouldn't it be conservatively prudent to end the life of just one marauder of the oceans (the marlin) vs ending the playful lives a hundred fish (calicos) for a grand PETA BBQ?

Smoked marlin IS wonderfull. And the native peoples of the country immediately south of our country are quite adept at cooking up marlin in various ways. I'd even venture to say that a "marlin burrito" might just satisfy even MY most discerning burrito palate.

But if you're dead set on calicos, I'm sure we could get Tag'n Brag to supply a few "limits" :9 :9 :9
 
#6 ·
>Smoked marlin is good. Smoked calico is good. Smoked
>Kingfish is good. Heck, I bet smoked top-siders would be good
>too. In all seriousness, I have eaten smoked raccoon. It was
>good. Possum?




LOL

I think yer right! :7

I still have the Topsiders I wore for 4 years in Oz. Maybe I'll give 'em a try. Might also get that smell out of the closet! ;)

Fishslayer
 
#7 ·
Striped marlin make good cat food. Now a blue marlin, is great...even grilled. It does not need to be smoked to be eaten.

I have heard that black marlin are also in the cat food catagory.

I'm glad to see that most marlin now are released...beautiful animals, and there are better fish in the sea to eat.
 
#8 ·
Years ago I kept a striped marlin caught in Cabo. I had it cleaned at the dock, and packed it home in styrofoam ice chests (you could do that at one time.) It is O.K. in a fish stew, but tough when baked or BBQ'ed as steaks.
Let them go, they are a magnificent fish.

Steve
Bertram 28'
Dana Point
 
#9 ·
Blue marlin are great fresh, or smoked, white meat. There is a problem after they have been frozen. Not good! Kinda like eating a sponge!

You probably saw striped marlin hanging at the landing. They are much more common. Striped marlin is darker meat than blue marlin and not as good grilled. I think the best way to eat stiped marlin is ceviche. It is realy good that way.

Given the choice, I release them all.

Problem is that blue marlin fight so hard that they often come to the boat dead. If you bait a striper sometimes they swallow the hook and bleed to death before they get to a position where you can release.
 
#12 ·
I remember my Brothers Bachelor party in New England, where I set up a private charter for 15 guys to go fishing for the day. What did we get? 3 Bluefish.....all caught by me! Now I'm not bragging, cause I was the only fisherman on board, the rest were newbies, so it makes sense. Anyway, we/they decided to make this our dinner at night, so I cut it all up, and they took over. Because of the oily, fishy nature of Bluefish, you have to put, onion, garlic, rosemary...ect ect, ect to break down those tastes to make it table fare....what's my point....same thing as Marlin, or smoke it to make it palatable. Why bother? There are so many other better table fare, why kill the sportfish? I don't understand the mentality behind it. Now, I do understand why in Mexico, why the locals eat it, as in other countrys. It's a poor country....makes sense....here? No excuse!

BTW, the Bluefish? Disgusting....anyway you prepare it!
 
#13 ·
>I thought I might ask. All ones I have seen are hanging at a
>landing and I would guess somewhat ripe. Are they good to eat
>when handled right?


So I guess the answer is Blue Marlin is good to eat, but you should not kill them unless you are hungary. Striped and Black Marlin is cat food, but fun to catch and release cat food unless you are real hungary. Thanks guys for the information.........Jiggy Joe
 
#15 ·
Of course people eat marlin. It is just another fish, only bigger. A Striped Marlin tail section steaked out and baked with stewed tomato & onion is about as fine a fish dish as can be found. The flesh cooks up pure white & mild, much like Wahoo. A dead or dieing Marlin left in the ocean is a waste.
 
#17 ·
Billfish

Back in the 60s and 70s I had marlin and sailfish when in Mexico, and it was very decent eating. Not just smoked. Charcoal grilled like swordfish (which is also a billfish), basted with olive oil, it was great. For the striped marlin, you had to be careful cooking filets or they would dry out.

But, with the hard time the billfish started having with longliners and such starting in the late 70s, I stopped eating it. Probably don't make no difference, I just felt better myself about it.

In passing, I saw marlin steaks in a fish store in Chicago a few months ago when we visited. My guess is that they sell 'em whereever there is not a great deal of awareness of the problems.
 
#19 ·
Hard to answer for sure.

Much of the market is in Asia; as you know, the largest fleets of long line ships come from that part of the world. What they bring back, they sell and distribute. I think China just surpassed Japan with it's fishing fleet, but they are a bit closemouthed about it.

I was able to find this excerpt about bill fish commerical fishing (not long line specifically..allkinds) in Hawaii.

________________________________________
Hawaii's Billfish

Four species of billfish are caught in substantial quantities off the Hawaiian Islands:

* Pacific blue marlin (Makaira nigricans), kajiki or a`u;
* Shortbill spearfish (Tetrapturus angustirostris) or hebi;
* Striped marlin (Tetrapturus audax), nairagi or `au;
* Broadbill swordfish (Xiphias gladius) or shutome.

With the exception of shutome, billfish are harvested in the open ocean by the same fleets which land fresh tuna and they enter the same markets as tuna. Seasonality of species is evident, with Pacific blue marlin most available during the summer months, striped marlin most available in the spring and fall, and shortbill spearfish most available in the summer and fall. Shutome is predominant in spring and summer.

The same general procedures for proper care of tuna also apply to billfish. However, a handling problem specific to billfish is their susceptibility to gaping or "cracking" if the fish is bent.

In a gutted billfish, buyers can determine freshness not only by examination of the exposed flesh, but by squeezing the corner of the belly flap between thumb and forefinger. A rubbery texture indicates freshness, but if the fingers penetrate the flesh, quality is lower. Another indicator of lower quality in marlin is whether the small, finely-pointed scales break off or stick out after running a hand across the skin. Gutted marlin, like gutted tuna, will keep better if the belly cavity is well iced. Loined marlin should be bagged to protect the flesh from air and dehydration in cold storage. To extend the shelf life of gutted marlin, the blood line should be completely removed. If oxygen from the blood remains in contact with the flesh for a long time, the flesh may take on a somewhat rancid taste. Blood denatures quickly, so removal of the blood line will also improve the life of fresh fillets.
__________________________________

The site is: http://www.state.hi.us/dbedt/seafood/intro.html
_________________________________

and I think the Japanese names for marlin as sushi, suggest they eat it:
Kurokajiki=Kurokawa=Katsuokui (Blue Marlin)
Makajiki=Kajimaguro (Striped Marlin, Pacific Marlin)
and I think "Kajiki" might refer to all marlin in general.

(I think this is right, but if not, someone who knows will correct.)
 
#20 ·
I have found it to be acceptable table fare. Striped marlin meat is red and turns white immediatly when placed on a barBQ. It takes on the texture of Swordfish and has a mild flavor. And yes it is very good smoked. I have only had fresh from both baja and catalina.
 
#22 ·
Very good, with the usual caveat: "if well cared for". Lots of marlin caught in Cabo spend half a day or more tied to the swim step in 100 degree weather. I have eaten some blue marlin and some striped marlin. The blue was maybe a little better than the stripe. You could build a 2 story wall with either one of them if they are overcooked - they set up like stone. Cook them medium rare so they are still a little translucent in the middle.

I have also eaten a couple of sailfish that were well cared for - bled and iced right away. I thought both had a skunky taste that I didn't care for.

Big_E
 
#23 ·
I've never eaten marlin, but I have eaten both sailfish, and shortbilled spearfish. The sailfish had been canned (well, actually jarred, but I guess most call it canned), and was actually very pleasant...more like a tuna in taste than a swordfish (swordfish was the only other billfish I had ever eaten to use as a comparison).

The spearfish could have been passed off as wahoo, and nobody would have ever known the difference...look, taste, and texture identical to a wahoo. If I wasn't on the boat when it was caught, I never would have believed it wasn't wahoo. (Oh, and please don't tell the self proclaimed size limit setters here, that it only weighed 41 lbs.)

Steve (Socalslew)
 
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