Once the swordfish left the water, its strength quickly dissipated, and it no longer had the strength to fight back. It was slowly hoisted up by the rope hoisting machine.
This is a swordfish that is a little over 3 meters long. Judging from how much effort the rope machine is putting in, it must weigh close to 400 pounds. No wonder the three of them had sore arms from pulling it.
The deck was a mess, with tangled fishing lines and other fish tied up and unable to move; everything had to be cleaned up.
Duan Chunsheng only rested briefly before quickly standing up to get a sharp knife to bleed the swordfish.
I'm already quite familiar with this routine, since I just did it once before.
While swordfish may not be as high-end as grouper, it is definitely considered a premium product.
The main difference is that the meat varies greatly from part to part. For example, the belly of the fish is used for sashimi and costs two to three hundred yuan per kilogram.
The meat from the back and tail of the fish is used for frying, and it costs around 80 yuan, which is several times more expensive.
The swordfish was hanging in mid-air, not lowered, which was just right for bleeding. Duan Chunsheng plunged a knife into it. After struggling for a while, the swordfish stopped moving, and the blood slowly flowed out under the influence of gravity.
While he was at it, Duan Chunsheng cleaned the swordfish's internal organs.
Ye Cheng and Xiao Hu started cleaning up the other fish in the net. There were two bluefin tuna, which could be considered top-grade, as well as more cod and some squid.
The two cleaned the fish, and Duan Chunsheng had almost finished bleeding it.
Before it's placed in the water tank, there's one more thing to do: saw off its sword.
Before setting sail, we hadn't thought much about it. Who would bring a saw on the boat? In the end, we had Xiao Hu slowly chop it with a kitchen knife.
Swordfish spines are very hard, almost like wood, and Xiaohu had a lot of trouble chopping them with just a kitchen knife.
Ye Cheng had only collected two drift nets; there were still many things to collect, and he couldn't wait that long.
They turned the boat around and headed towards the longline fishing area.
The sea breeze carried the stench of fish blood, which was unpleasant, but it smelled like money.
It took more than ten minutes to drive to the longline fishing spot. Xiao Hu cut off the swordfish's sword and then threw it into the water tank. The ice instantly encased it, making it an absolutely fresh, chilled fish.
The two sets of longline fishing did not bring Ye Cheng any surprises. Perhaps he encountered a school of fish, half of which were mackerel.
Mackerel, also known as Japanese mackerel or blue mackerel, is an economically important fish. It has a bluish-green or dark blue back and is a typical small to medium-sized fish, usually weighing around half a pound.
However, its nutritional value is decent, and the price is also affordable, so it is a frequent guest on people's dining tables. You can usually buy a good mackerel for 10 yuan per catty.
Besides the mackerel, we also caught a dozen or so Spanish mackerel, which was the biggest catch of this longline fishing trip.
By the time it was time to set 50 fish traps, it was already past 3 p.m. Looking at the sun, which was already starting to set in the west, Ye Cheng frowned slightly. It seemed that he wouldn't have time to set fish traps or do longline fishing today.
But today's harvest was absolutely plentiful, so let's not give it up then.
It's much faster to put away the fish traps. Just pull them up one by one and dump them onto the deck. Pick out the crabs and shrimp, pick out the larger fish, and release the rest.
You're lucky that your brother is in a good mood.
It's probably the season for mud crabs. This time, 50 traps yielded over 100 mud crabs, several dozen kilograms of half a fish, as well as rock bream and shrimp, completely filling the deck.
The fish hold was full, and the deck was full too. Looking at the bountiful harvest, Ye Cheng felt all his fatigue disappear.
This is the happiest time for fishermen, just like when farmers harvest their crops; they are happy just looking at their harvest.
The three of them chatted and laughed all the way as they headed toward the dock, facing the setting sun.
As the sun set, the three arrived at the dock at around 6 p.m. It was getting dark, and most of the people on the dock had left. Most of the fishermen who had gone out to sea that day had returned, and the fishing boats were neatly moored in rows, full of life.
"Ye Cheng is back!"
"Look, Ye Cheng is back."
People on the dock recognized Ye Cheng's boat from a distance.
There was no way around it, the grouper this morning was just too amazing.
Everyone was especially curious to see if Ye Cheng's joking mention of a second giant grouper was true.
After all, Ye Cheng had brought them too much shock.
As soon as the boat docked, several idlers started shouting and jeering.
"Second brother, there's a giant grouper that's even taller than you."
"No!" Ye Cheng replied loudly with a smile.
There are no giant grouper; he wasn't lying.
Upon hearing Ye Cheng's words, everyone immediately scoffed, feeling both disappointed and somewhat relieved.
However, they soon exclaimed in surprise because Duan Chunsheng and Xiao Hu had dragged the swordfish out.
Holy crap!
"Such a huge swordfish!"
"Damn it, you little bastard, you're playing dirty tricks, aren't you? You even said there wasn't any left."
Ye Cheng shrugged. "There aren't any giant grouper anymore, this is a swordfish."
Nobody cares about this little trick anymore; everyone's watching to see how long the swordfish is.
Several others simply lay down, gestured, and kept clicking their tongues.
Besides swordfish, the three of them started carrying baskets of their catch onto the deck: blue crabs, wrasse, cod, mackerel, rockfish, and white shrimp. It was dazzling to see them all.
Is this fishing?
So you're still opening a seafood market, huh?
The shop owners, drawn by the aroma, had already stormed over, each one looking menacing. They were determined to take something, no matter what. Old He was also brought over by the staff, and they all stood in front of Ye Cheng's boat.
"Well, Lao He, you already caught a grouper this morning, so it's about time we got our turn."
The bosses were quite unhappy about Lao He's arrival.
Old He curled his lip. "What, buying things, the highest bidder wins. Since you offered the highest price, I'll let you have it."
"But you can't make all the money by yourself. We're all working together at the dock. You've had the meat, so it's time for us to have some soup."
"That's right, that's right."
Old He glared, put his hands on his hips, and was about to retort.
A soft voice reached his ears.
"Old He, let's give it to a few bosses this time."
When Lao He looked up, he saw that it was Ye Cheng who spoke.
We have no choice but to give up.
But he couldn't bear to leave, so he stood there, pouting.
Seeing that Lao He was silent, Ye Cheng turned to the other bosses and said, "This swordfish is 3.2 meters long, and the internal organs have been removed for you. It weighs 350 jin. Which boss is interested in making a price?"
Duan Chunsheng cooperated by opening the fish's belly to show the fish to the restaurant owners.
Without its internal organs, the fish has lost some unnecessary weight and looks much more appealing.
Generally speaking, the price of a whole swordfish is not high, because the belly part is expensive.
"I'll pay 30 yuan per jin."
I'll bet 35!
I bet 36!
I bet 37!
Several bosses started loudly bidding, while Lao He rolled his eyes as he listened.
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