FAIR PRICE FOR FISH CLEANING

[Fish Biz]

Hey gang, some of you know I used to have a fish cleaning service in Cape May Marina when I had Hand's bait and tackle there.
Here is my .02 cents, Yes fish cleaners can make good money during the season. We face the same limitations as Capts and mates do. Bad weather/ no one goes= no fish to clean. Species at times of the year, you aint gettin rich off of flounder/sea bass and such.
I also charged a flat rate tuna were 10 to loin 15 to steak. Drumfish 8 or 10 coulda charged more, I trimmed the dark meat out of also. Stripers 3bucks. I was always on call. Drum season I closed the shop at 6 and would go back sometimes at 12/1 and clean drum get a shower at the marina and open the store at 5am.
No over head? Well I had to dispose of carcasses, I had a farmer that I could take them out to his farm and he would run a plow line, I'd fill it he'd turn it over and dig me another. He started chargin per fish. the farm was 30 min from the marina each way(fuel). I had a boat I would fill to the gunnels with racks and run them out to open water(fuel/oil). All this took time, ( when you were not cleanin fish or waitin on customers) and time is money.
Knives you clean 50-60 55 to 85lb drumfish a day and tell me how long your knives will last.
When the fishin was good you could only do so much, so you were limited to the amount of money you could make. Example guys have been out fishing all day they do well go up to the cleaners and they are 4th or 5th in line. They will wait a little while but they aint waitin long. So you can lose as much as you make cause most charters leave at the same time and return at the same time.
Last but not least. I took pride in how well I cleaned fish, you need to be a perfectionist but also quick to boot. No one wants to look in the scrap tote and see meat on the racks and they don't want to be there all afternoon while your creating a master piece.
With all that being said I miss cleaning fish. It was good money(cash) but it was hard but rewarding work. In NJ you'll never get rich doing it. I would of loved to be able to charge .50cent/lb shit than i could of got rich my 60 drumfish days avg weight 60lbs 3600lbs. $1800 instead of 480 I think I'd still be cleaning fish. well thats my perspective. It's no different from being a capt/mate the work aint always there and there are alot of variables and alot of hard work. Thanks Tim

[dandaman]

I grew up as a mate working on bottom fishing boats in savannah
We had 3 or 4 boats fishing usually everyday during season at our marina
It was understood between the mates that each would have first right to clean the catch from its boat for a charge of .45 cent per pound for seabass ,snapper ,grouper ,kings ,etc and big fish like amberjack usually around 40# were 5 bucks a fish
If a mate didnt want to claen his catch which rarly happened the others would split the work
Cleaning fees were always seperate charge after tip not included in charter fee
we did have one guy come down to start a"fish cleaning service" once but he was kindly escorted from the dock
With all this said I am giulty of using a cleaning service from OI when we put 723# of tuna on the dock while on vacation with a bunch of family and it was worth it and all was eaten
I also had the mates in the keys clean my catch on the marathon lady seperate from tip for a charge of 3 fish for a buck cant beat that and i caught a couple of tarpon in the canal while i waited

[PelagicDE]

it sucks when you cant clean a fish yourself in your marina. I dont think loining a tuna is rocket science and when you can do it for free! It just sucks being forced to have your fish cleaned at the marina. I do know that cleaners make an additional amount of money on top of per lb/tip cost. Nothing like a tuna carcass to attract other fish. Also items like tuna eyes and toro that you dont get back can be turned into additionl cash.

[tunatamer4]

We are not even allowed to clean fish at our marina for enviormental concerns about carcuses floating around the harbor.

This was/is an issue in Carolina Beach. Since the marina is at the end of a long "canal" the water doesn't flow, just rises and falls. The 'law' is we can be fined if caught throwing carcasses in the drink. They tend to look away when tossing small stuff that the crabs, turtles and other aquatic life can carry off. For the larger racks, the town has supplied a number of trash cans along the docks for "FISH ONLY" that get emptied every day before 8am. Since most of the boats return after the "hottest" part of the day, the cans don't get to smelling too bad overnight and are cleaned by the time the tour-ons start walking the docks in the morning.

Across the marina at the "cleaning station" there is a dumpster that is on a fish markets property that gets picked up every couple of days. Now that can ripe in the middle of August.

[TeamLithics]

Well I've seen it both ways. An over night charter out of Cape May the mate cleaned the fish, on the Chesapeake, the mate cleaned the fish, out of Ocean City they have a cleaning service I can't remember the cost, but it was reasonable. On one particular trip out of Hatteras Harbor Marina, (with only 4 guys) we caught 400lbs of tuna and 130lbs of dolphin they had a cleaning service that charged 30 cents per pound. It was an additional cost, but to me well worth it. I would rather have a professional do it than me ruin the fish. After fishing all day everyday during the season the capt. and mate want to get the boat clean and get home home to their family and I can appreciate that. They work hard even when we don't catch much. I'll gladly pay a cleaning sevice as long as it is reasonable. I think the customer should be informed of who cleanes the fish and what the expense may be when the charter is booked so they can plan for it. I will often pay for the charter and have my friends pay for the tip and the cleaning. Money is like manure, it doesn't do any good unless you spread it around !

[LONGFIN2]

Chartering a boat and needing a fish cleaner, or being a professional Captain or mate and needing a fish cleaner is one thing. I completely understand the time/money/precision aspect and I've watched Rose and Santa in OC work absolute magic. My favorite thing to watch though is the guys who run their own private boats (whether it's offshore or inshore) taking their fish to the cleaner! C'mon guys, if you can't clean your own fish go golfing or something. On our boat we have an agreement that I clean the fish while the rest of the guys clean the boat. No tuna, I help clean. I had to help clean the boat a lot last year................

[gulfstream2gulfcoast]

In the work I have done as a mate, it always depended on how well we did that day. If it was marginal I would clean the fish with no problem. On those memorable days when you get back after dark with hundreds of pounds of fish to clean, not to mention a blood covered boat, finding someone to clean the fish is pretty handy. There were the days when we got back around 11PM with a sh*tload of fish, and we had another charter the next day at 6AM. Almost impossible to clean all the fish and have the boat ready for the next day w just a mate and the captain. Damn, I can't wait for those days this summer...

[Captain Michael Buffington]

This has been debated before on this site. It is geographcially based, some areas have cleaners, some don't.

Personally, I have worked in both places and I can tell you that I appreciate having fish cleaners available. Do I think 50 cents per pound is steep for tunas? Yes, and i have said so many times.

To answer other questions- most do pay a fee to the marinas (they do in OCFC, Sunset and Bahia). A few sharp knives? That is like saying a carpenter only needs a hammer and nails. There are more tools to the trade (bags, stones etc) and upkeep and maintenance. Also, you are paying for experience. I dare say 5 minutes on a 100 pound tuna is pretty quick, It would take me quite a bit longer than that, and I am sure the professional fish cleaner would do a better job.

It reminds me of the story of a man walking down the street and he sees Picasso. He asks Picasso to sketch him on a napkin. Picasso does and then says to the man, "That will be 10,000 dollars." the man says "What? It only took you five minutes to do that." To that Picasso replies, "No, It took me a lifetime to be able to do that...."

I for one like having a good fish cleaner in a marina. I tell my charters that he is available, and what the average cost is, when they book the trip. It is not a service I provide. I get to the boat at 3:45 am and usually don't get cleaned up until 7 that night. No time built in there for fish cleaning. Maybe if we worked shorter days.

"That will be 10,000 dollars." the man says "What? It only took you five minutes to do that." To that Picasso replies, "No, It took me a lifetime to be able to do that...."


Mike