Lost Filets Due To Contractor Stupidity: Question on Fish Size

[fishweewee]

Guys, what's your guess on the net weight of an edible species like cod fish?

What percentage (roughly) of a steaker-sized fish is head and offal and what is usable filet?

My guess would be about 30%.

I lost some choice filets because an idiot contractor unplugged my deep freezer and forgot to plug it back in. I lost 120 lbs. of cod filets as a result (found out a month after the plug was pulled). This was cod that I caught, fileted, and vacuum sealed myself. I wanna scream. This doesn't include several tens of lbs. of striper filets, a few dozen eels (some rigged), and 15 lbs. of squid I jigged up myself. And haddock filets.

I have to file a claim for the lost foodstuff. Insurance company for the contractor is making me come up with receipts for the charter trips and all the cost associated with them. And an estimate on the gross poundage caught. Boy am I pissed.

Based on my memory from one trip, I remember taking home 4 cod in the 30-35 lb. range and six in the 15-20 lb. range.

-WW

[Surely Bassey]

major bummer man...

[Nebe]

Bummer... but on teh bright side, now you gotta go out and catch more:

[C-5 CC]

if it was a month after the plug was pulled, I hope you are putting in for a NEW freezer also. Man that must be a friggen mess. I would expect you needed a bio-hazard team to remove it from the house. Good luck collecting from the ins co!
Brandon

[Slingah]

that stinks wee
how does that freezer smell?
hope u get a new 1 of those 2

[mikecc]

I know how you feel I had a contractor blow a fuse and not tell me 2 weeks later I found it after coming home from a trip.What a mess I lost 1/2 a Bear and a Pieball Deer fur

[goosefish]

FWW--I can find out the yield on the cod if you want. I work with a fish cutter, he should know. Question: why do they care about the yield? when you lost 120Ibs. Is it because they want to know the market value of the whole fish?
$1.50 pound whole cod, or 4.99 for filet.
120 pounds at 4.99= 600 bucks
36 rigged eels, call it a buck an eel plus labor 40 bucks
15 pounds of squid at a buck a pound............................................. ................are these the kinds of things they are after?

Let me know if you want the yield, but your guess sounds right; could be low though.

[Mike P]

mike--before your dad bought Charlie's, Robbie had a similar experience with a freezer full of squid

[BasicPatrick]

FWW,

My Commercial buyer in boston told me last year that they figure Cod and Bass to return 40% of the gross weight for Filets

PAtrick

[fishweewee]

Thanks folks, appreciate it.

You should have been around for the smell, it was breathtaking to open up that freezer.

The squid, which was not vacuum sealed, had decomposed to such a state that it was liquefied and unrecognizable. There were some clams mixed in is well.

The bottom of the freezer was a liquid putrid mess. I removed everything that was vacuum bagged and tossed it, and then plugged the freezer back in so the bottom sludge would congeal a bit - easier to clean up that way.

Bleach works wonders on cleaning up a freezer - most of the smell is now gone, thank God.

The striper filets and eels are still recognizable surprisingly.

I say are, because I'm saving up all the bottom sludge and some of the putrid fish (it's outside in a plastic bag). I'm gonna box it up in a creaky styrofoam cooler box and ship it to the contractor.

-WW

[beachwalker]

send it freight collect.......

[rob-s]

ya didnt notice it for a month?
if it was my freezer i would have been fishing in there every other day
what a bummer, you should get reimbursed per hour for time spent fishing,
i hope the insurance comes even slightly close to the value of what you lost

i have often wonderd it a batery operated beeper or buzzer is made to warn if power has been cut from a freezer?
seems there would be a market for this as ive heard tell
of this before. seems there must be something?
how about a link to a product that will do this?

[fishweewee]

Yeah, didn't notice it for about a month.

Contractor came during the late holiday season, stuff didn't really start to go bad until 3-4 days after the plug was pulled.

Brand new freezer, just bought for all the filets I needed to store. In the basement, and area I don't frequent very often. We (thank God) had a stash of filets in the kitchen freezer up on deck for the oven.

So the lid was on tight. Didn't notice until a faint odor started emanating.

You shoulda seen me, I hit the roof when I opened up that freezer. Just ruined my day.

[STEVE IN MASS]

Aw, don't be such a wimp.....save it all for chum......

[Bawana]

I can relate to this---my sisters adopted kid shut off the freezer in celler of cottage last july.I showed up to get bait after a week and smell was so B-A-D.Dug big whole and burried it all-- gross

[RIROCKHOUND]

Lost 50+lbs of mackeral jigged up one april... freezer crapped out in a small room, noone noticed for days.... macks had disinigrated to mush and bones... I have a strong stomach and I could barely deal with it.... ended up dumping it and buying a new one......

[chris L]

that sucks ! When hurricane Gloria hit I had a large freezer filled with cod and stripers and lost power for 3 days . luckily for me I left for jamaica the day after gloria . My Mother had the undelightful task of cleaning it out . She said she couldnt leave it until I got home . got to love Mothers !

[Fish Or Die]

i think you should invite the contractor over for some cod!

[FishermanTim]

Depending on the outcome, you may want to save a little for a "thank you" for the insurance company as well.

[CAL]

Originally posted by fishweewee
I hit the roof when I opened up that freezer.

I woulda figured you'd hit the floor

Man, that totally sucks

[mikecc]

Originally posted by Mike P
mike--before your dad bought Charlie's, Robbie had a similar experience with a freezer full of squid

Mike
Iwas told he just taped the freezer up with duct tape and brought it to the dump.

[Ed B]

FWW, when I worked at a fish company on the Cape many moons ago the goal for a fishcutter was 45% return weight on a bass. 33% for flatfish (sole, dabs, flounder etc.. ). Cod was never bought or sold in the whole, but if it was it would be similar to bass. 45% would a goal but I agree with Basic Patrick that 40% is a realistic number.

Of course when I cut I'm just happy with a filet in one piece without too many bones.

[Gloucester2]

OK, OK - I'll go again


Sorry for the headaches

[fishweewee]

A bud. How 'bout a break from dem stripers in June or July?

[Gloucester2]

Sooner


I gonna be tryin' the Canal in a few weeks . . . anyone can catch a cod or two from a boat . . . I wanna adda degree of difficulty

[fishweewee]

Okay, let me know when you're going, I'll bring clams.

[MAC]

Do I heaar cod fling???

[fishweewee]

I prefer to call it a cod "leg."

[Nebe]

Cod dont have legs.

[fishweewee]

Originally posted by Eben
Cod dont have legs.

How do you know, man?

They used to have cod in Rhode Island, didn't they?

-B