Do you guys eat Skipjack Tuna?

[La Gringa]

Does that work for dog shit?

I dunno.... i'm not the expert on dog shit...!!!

[lawaia]

Aloha from a fellow UH alum! We locals here have a saying that you can take the boy out of the islands but you can't take the islands out of the boy and that love of the island lifestyle seems to have infected you too, except you've found a different island paradise to call home. The fishing there looks as good as it used to be here.

Hope you didn't get the ciguatera when you were here. It never really was a problem here until the big building boom in the '60s and '70s when all the runoff and whatnot upset the reef ecology and resulted in excessive growth of the algae that carries the toxin. The deeper, further offshore reefs are less affected and that's why, in our experience, the deep/offshore reef fish are less likely to carry the toxin. But you're wise to do as the locals do; they have much more experience with what's safe in their area.

Regarding the aku sashimi, it's best eaten very fresh, before it develops any trace of "fishiness", and dipping it into wasabi (finely ground horseradish paste) mixed with shoyu (soy sauce) will give it a good flavor. Most remove any trace of the bloodline before slicing for sashimi but a very few like even that much stronger flavored part of the fish. If all the aku isn't eaten as sashimi in the first couple of days, the rest is made into poke or marinated then dried. Have you eaten poke? It's the dish with cubed fish chunks, ogo (seaweed), sesame oil, kukui nut, and sea salt (or shoyu). Don't know if you can get those ingredients there but maybe the locals have a similar dish? Poke is very popular here as pupu (snacks/appetizers) at parties.

Don't know when you were here, but way back and into the '60s the local tuna cannery used almost exclusively aku for their product. Yep, Charlie the tuna was most likely an aku. The pole-and-line aku fishery has dwindled away since they closed the cannery. Too bad, but guess that's progress?

Love the photos on your blog. Keep it up!

lawaia

[Gringo]

Does that work for dog shit?

Well, extrapolating what we have learned to include a wider food base for those with less discriminatory taste.....yes, I would guess that for those here who seem to be interested in the quality of their dogshit......if the flies won't land on it, I wouldn't eat it if I were you.

[randall r]

one of my bertram buddies caught a dozen skippies this week....they wound up as bait even though a few were prepared as food......maybe its the location thing...they were caught in australia

[La Gringa]

Aloha Fellow Alum!!!

I'm pretty sure I have had poke - it's been a while. I was on Oahu from Jan '84 - June '87. My first husband was a Marine and stationed at Kaneohe (we did not live on the base, thank god). We knew a local family in Kailua (our family away from family you might say) who used to have us for their luaus and of course, all the local dishes were served. He used to fish for ahi offshore and would call everyone to meet at his house for fresh sashimi - the best I've ever had.

And no, I did not get the ciguaterra there - I got it here years ago while on vacation!! I did not catch the fish that gave it to me and am very cautious about where they come from. Now, I prefer to catch my own anyway. I didn't even know that's what I had at the time. Six weeks of various specialists and a battery of horrible tests and their conclusion was: "We don't know what's wrong with you..." Years later, I would read about the symptoms of ciguaterra and now there's no doubt in my mind - that's what I had. I don't relish the idea of getting it again either.

Living in the Hawaiian Islands was an awesome experience. My degree is in Environmental Geography and I spent my years there exploring the islands, mapping coral reefs and volcanic craters and studying the culture and history with Abe Piianaia. (I know how to say it - not sure I know how to spell it!) Fascinating man. Fascinating islands. So unique!! I even studied the effect the runoff you mentioned had on Kaneohe Bay.

I had relatives who owned a condo on Molokai and we spent some time on that beautiful island. Other highlights - hiking the Na Pali Coast on Kauai, camping on the Big Island after (I think) Mauna Kea erupted and spilled lava down the mountain, over the road and into the ocean, watching the surfers on 30 foot waves in Waimea Bay. Very, very beautiful islands you have!!

But also very far away from family and friends. Had my first son there and then decided to move back to the Mainland. We remained for a time after my husband was discharged so I could finish my degree. UH really wanted me to stay and offered a free ride to get my PhD... one of those opportunities missed, I guess.

I did, however, get back to the islands finally!! (I'd better get this thread back on track!) Back in the Trade Wind Belt! The islands are very different but it's still the "island thing" and I love it. Glad you like the blog - thanks!

[Patudo]

I'd personally agree with the Hawaiians that the true skipjack tuna is a fine eating fish. Confusion often arises with the other small tuna species like the kawa kawa and little tunny that are not quite so desirable. Quality does vary depending on location and feed. The ones in Phuket pig out on anchovies (oily little critters), white bait and small squid and the meat can sometimes be very dark almost purple. Madeiran skipjack seem to feed on krill and other tiny stuff and they have much lighter meat almost pink.

The larger the skipjack the better they are to eat. Below 5 lbs they have too much dark meat and the meat itself also tends to be mushy. Big skippies in the 15 lbs to 20 lbs plus class aka rocket propelled blue watermelons are excellent. Treat like any other tuna - avoid bruising as much as possible, bleed them out, ice them down carefully.

They breakdown quickly possibly because of their very high metabolism and I try and consume mine within 24 hours. Excellent sashimi fish and also good for tuna steaks.

[Squidnation]

OK now, those of you who "believe" you have never eaten or will never eat skipjack listen up:
Skipjack is excellent tuna as is atlantic bonito. Both fish are particularly tender fleshed tunas and need to be cared for and eaten very fresh. Seared is the way to go with both, although raw is very good as well. Grilled all the way will work OK.
Much, if not most, commercially canned tuna has historically been skipjack, by the way!
Little tunny (false albacore in NC, bonito (neeter) in Fla) is THE ONLY tuna not good to eat. People confuse all the other small tunas with the little tunny and miss out on a great meal.
Cheers,
SeaBiscuit

True Skipjack Tuna is extremely tasty and as Josh said makes an excellent Sashimi. I think most people that say they hate it actually ate false Albacore.

[Gringo]

Just curious, but how do you guys "bleed them out"? We got the same advice from Trish, of CTW charters. On this last one, I ran a knife down both sides cutting the gills loose and then cut across the lower neck between the gills. It bled pretty good. I had almost no blood in it when I finally filleted it.

We had it two nights for dinner. The day we caught it, it was excellent. Some of the best fish we have tasted. Then the third night after we caught it, after it had been refrigerated ( clean fillets) 48 hours, it was a little stronger tasting. We all ate it again last night, and could tell the difference. We agreed that next time we will take what we want to eat that day from a fresh one, and give the rest away to local friends the same day. We agree that keeping it degrades the taste. Perhaps some of the people who have not liked it did not eat it when it was still fresh.

Even 48 hours old it was far better than the best bluefish I ever had. In fact, it's not even fair to compare them. Bluefish is NEVER good, as far as I am concerned.

[Capt_John]

Mmmmmmm.......POKE!!

[endoman]

Nice to see you finally figured it out Gringo, and La Gringa.

We absolutely love the small skippies we catch in the Islands. I can't tell you how many times we've put yellowfin next to skippie on the sashimi board and the skippie wins every time.