by pirata 5 Replies latest watchtower bible
Okay, so Noah was given dominion over the fish, birds, and animals. He could kill them and eat them, but not their blood. The mosaic law dictated pouring out the blood, which is then assumed that is the method used by Noah to avoid eating blood.
How do you drain the blood out of a fish? You start "strangling" the poor thing as soon as you take it out of the water because it can't breathe in air.
Make a slice into each gill, then another slice to the spinal cord at the base of its tail. The blood literally drops out of them. I keep a "fish whacker" club handy too and knock 'em over the head so that they don't "strangle", as you put it.
Thanks Low-Key Lysmith!
Ewww... Does it have to be freshly caught to do that? Do fisherman usually do that?
And some official JW comments on the matter:
*** w73 4/1 p. 224 Questions From Readers ***
Questions From Readers
? Must fish be bled before they are eaten?—U.S.A.
The Bible does not specifically mention the bleeding of fish. Only in the case of land animals or fowl do we read: “As for any man . . . who in hunting catches a wild beast or a fowl that may be eaten, he must in that case pour its blood out and cover it with dust.”—Lev. 17:13.
Fish that were suitable for food according to the terms of the Mosaic law did not contain a quantity of blood sufficient to be poured out and covered with dust. Evidently for this reason the Law set forth no precise statement about bleeding fish.
There being no Scriptural stipulation to squeeze or soak meat to remove blood, no one is under obligation to take extreme measures to extract blood from fish. Of course, the blood of every sort of creature represents its life and is therefore sacred. So, if, on cutting a fish open, a person sees an accumulation of blood, he should remove it.
*** w61 11/1 p. 670 Questions From Readers *** ? In view of the Bible command on abstinence from blood, how are fish and insects to be prepared in order to be acceptable for food?—B. F., U.S.A. Fish was a common food among the Jews. Jesus himself ate it, and on different occasions he directed successful fishing operations, both with a net and with a hook. (Num. 11:5; Matt. 14:17; 17:27; Luke 5:1-11; 24:42, 43) Some insects, too, were used for food. (Lev. 11:21; Mark 1:6) Of course, the amount of blood contained in these creatures may be very small, so that it is impossible to pour out their blood; yet that is what was required to make the meat of a creature acceptable for food. (Lev. 17:13) It was not required that the meat be squeezed or that it be soaked; simply that the blood be poured out. If there is not enough blood to pour it out, Christians are not under obligation to take extreme measures to be sure that some blood is extracted. Of course, if, on cutting the creature open, an accumulation of blood is clearly in evidence, this can easily be removed, and it would be proper to do so.
*** w54 5/1 p. 287 Questions From Readers *** Basing our position on the Bible, we shall have a balanced view, neither fanatically opposing all killing of animals, nor wantonly hunting them for sport. Jesus ate meat, both fish and lamb. He directed a successful fishing operation using a net, and also instructed that a fish be caught with a hook. (Luke 24:42, 43; Ex. 12:3, 8; Matt. 26:17-21; Luke 5:4-6; Matt. 17:27) Apparently fish required no special attention in bleeding, since there is no instruction concerning them; but the requirements relative to game birds and animals are specific and must be followed by theocratic hunters seeking to vary their meat diet with some wild game. Bullet wounds of today, like arrow wounds or fang-and-claw wounds from beasts of prey during the time of application of the Mosaic law, seldom effect adequate drainage of blood. Hence the hunter must make it complete by using his knife, whether it spoils a trophy or not.
Yes. This actually only works if they are freshly caught. Most fishermen I know bleed the fish immediately after catching them. It's also very important to clean them right away and keep them cool. If the blood & organs are left in the fish, even for just a few minutes, the meat will begin to rapidly deteriorate. It makes the meat mushy and makes it taste a lot more "fishy".
As a salmon & steelhead fisherman, whenever I catch a hen that is loaded with eggs, I always retain the eggs and cure them to use as future bait. It is also extremely important to remove all traces of blood from the egg skeins. If any blood is left in the skeins, the eggs will not cure properly.
You would probably be astonished to find out just how much blood is inside a 20lb salmon or steelhead. It's quite a bit. Getting it off the bottom of your boat can be quite a chore when it comes time to scrub the boat down.
Thanks for the detail Low-Key. I haved learned a good anatomy lesson today
I also found some info on another site that confirms that commercial fishermen bleed their fish for the best market value price.
