FAIR PRICE FOR FISH CLEANING

[HOT PURSUIT CHARTERS]

Just wondering what your marina fish cleaners charge to filet a fish. What's a fair price? I know a couple of captains who refuse to take their charter's fish to the cleaners due to what they consider outlandish prices and clean the fish themselves for their customers. Last year the cleaner at my marina charged $.50 per pound for tuna/shark and $1-2 per fish for bluefish/peanut dolphin/seabass, etc.
I'm all for making what you make if you have a certain talent and people are willing to pay, but $50 to fillet a 100 lb. tuna? Takes maybe five minutes (if that) for a skilled cleaner? Come on. And then wants a tip? Little over the top in my book. Is it just an additional price your customers are willing to pay? What say you?
Whats the overhead for a cleaner other than a few sharp knives? Do they pay the marina for the opportunity to work there? Are the prices to make up for slow days? Are you or your mate willing to clean fish after a long day running the boat/cockpit to save your customers some money? Would you charge your customers to do it?

[Shortfin]

Must be a southern thing south of NY ?

Up North it is included with your trip and it is done by the mate,maybe they are scheduled so tight for time between trips they have to offload and get going on the next one /

I witnessed that in Cape May and was wondering the same if you had a large fish north of 50 lbs

[Capt_John]

I used to fillet sea bass,grunts, grouper,etc. off of the head boats for tips. I also bagged the fish and iced it for the customers. I did this when I wasn't working on the boat. We also had fish cleaners when we had a turn around trip in Hawaii and here in NC. If I had two trips back to back, I didn't have time to fillet the fish before the next trip out. Most of the time, the other party was waiting on me at the dock when we returned. In Hawaii it was also necessary because it was illegal to dump fish carcasses in the marina, so they had to be dumped elsewhere. Imagine some tuna and mahi carcasses in the back of my pickup in the heat everyday until I got in from fishing. It was well worth it. Now up in OI, they have a fish cleaning service for .35cents per pound and that's how it's done unless you want to clean it yourself. Then again, I still clean all my fish for customers now on any trip I run as part of the charter. It just depends on where you're fishing out of. I know as a mate, I enjoyed cleaning fish and chatting with the party while doing so. But if we crushed the fish, I had a lot of cleaning and still had a boat to do as well. I don't see anything wrong with a marina charging a small fee for fish cleaning if it's done professionally and in a way that's definately convienient for the customer.

[bigfish4me]

On all the overnight Tuna charters we have done the mate has always loined the tunas and steaked the mako's and swords, however we always took good care of the mate on top of his normal tip....we also jump right in and keep things flowing smoothly. The only other time we paid extra for fish to be processed was black drum, the capt had a cutter he would call and meet us at the dock....3-5 bucks a fish depending on how big they were....generally under 30 lbs was 3 over was 5, and frankly i would probably pay 10 bucks just to not have to hack through the drums armor....but its only something we do once a year too.

[frankypettolina]

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.

[NightHeron]

Not to take sides but just to ask a question does fish cleaner have any expenses? Sharp knives maybe insurance maybe he actually drives to work possibly on call, could actually have a family,maybe even need to eat some day. Sorry lot of people have jobs we may see as simple but theres alittle more to it than you see.

[iguana1]

Have to say I have never heard of it up here in the Northeast. Seems a bit weird. If you charter I would think the charter mate/cap cuts your fish for tips. If you don't charter you have no business fishing if you can't figure out how to cut fish.

[frankypettolina]

Good point Nightheron- fish cleaner is on call and expected to be there 7 days a week all season long- even if we fishermen are not catching our own ass- they are sitting around waiting to provide the service- they have costs too. I did not think about insurance (which any contractor needs to have to work in Sunset or OCFC for example- legal and professional liability a 2mil a pop if I remember correctly).

[WAHOONBOX]

THIS IS A REGIONAL THING I GUESS...

FOR MANY YEARS I HAVE CLEANED FISH AFTER A CHARTER. AND IF MY CAPITANO ASKS ME TO CLEAN FISH BECAUSE WE HAD AN OFF DAY POUNDAGE WISE, I WOULD OBLIGE & DO THIS AT NO CHARGE


SEEMS WHEN I CLEANED 557 LBS OF FISH BY MYSELF AFTER A 14 HR DAY AND THEN CHARGED 35 CENT A POUND.....THE "TIP THING" ACTUALLY SUCKED. ....I MEAN A TIP IS A TIP BUT....LET'S SAY HYPOTHETICALLY, I WAS GOING TO MAKE A PREDETERMINED TIP OF 200 BUCKS A DAY.....557LBS x.35= $194.95

I GUESS AFTER SO MANY YEARS OF BEING A MATE...I LEARNED QUICKLY THAT THE "TIP THING" AND THE "FISH CLEANING THING" COLLIDED WITH "CONFLICT" YES I DID GET PAID $194.95 FOR FISH CLEANING SERVICES...AND I EARNED EVERY PENNY OF IT! AND I DID ONE HELL OF A JOB TOO....BAGGED PROPERLY, ETC ETC....BUT THERE REALLY WASN'T A LOT LEFT AFTER I WAS PAID FOR CLEANING SERVICES.....DO THE MATH.

.....THUS, I STARTED LOSING INTEREST IN FISH CLEANING THEREAFTER........THEN AFTER CLEANING THAT MOUNTAIN OF FISH, I GET TO SPEND THE NEXT 2 HRS CLEANING THE BOAT ON TOP OF THAT........

NOW THIS WAS NOT ALWAYS THE CASE....MANY TIMES I WAS/AM COMPENSATED EXTREMELY WELL.....ON BOTH ACCOUNTS



I FOR ONE UNDERSTAND THE 50 CENT A LB THING....I THINK IT IS 45 CENT IN MHC AREA...I MAY BE OFF A BIT HERE

BUT, FISH CLEANING IS MADE AVAILABLE IN MANY MARINAS NOW....AND I DON'T THINK ANYONE IS FORCED TO USE IT.

I HAVE NEVER HEARD OF A CHARTER GROUP THAT COULD NOT LOAD THEIR FISH INTO A COOLER AND DRIVE OFF. NOW IT MAY TAKE A BIG COOLER IF YOU ARE ON THE RIGHT BOAT....BUT YOU DO HAVE THAT LUXURY OF DRIVING OFF WITH YOUR FISH IN A BIG ASS COOLER

A PROFESSIONAL FISH CLEANER IS NO DIFFERENT THAN THE REST OF THE WORLD.....HE WANTS TO MAKE JUST AS MUCH MONEY AS THE REST OF US.....SO WHY SHOULD HE GIVE HIS SERVICE AWAY? WHY SHOULD A CHARTER BOAT SET HIS FEE? IF ONE DOESN'T LIKE HIS FEE PER LB, THEN DON'T USE HIM. FAIRLY SIMPLE IF YA ASK ME

[Shortfin]

Not to take sides but just to ask a question does fish cleaner have any expenses? Sharp knives maybe insurance maybe he actually drives to work possibly on call, could actually have a family,maybe even need to eat some day. Sorry lot of people have jobs we may see as simple but theres alittle more to it than you see.

Good point there ,I guess we all have to make a living and I am sure one of a fish cleaner is not an easy one