High quality fish

In autoline fishing the fish is taken onboard the vessel individually. This enables the fishermen to give the fish adequate handling, which secures the quality of the fish. One of their main operations is bleeding and gutting the fish. Without proper bleeding of the fish, the white fish flesh becomes red and less appealing to the consumer. Proper bleeding can only be done as long as the fish is still alive. Proper bleeding, coupled with less compression damaged results in a higher quality and more valuable product.

Firmer filet

Compared to other forms of fishing, fish taken by longline is not exposed to hard mechanical stress during handling. This results a firmer filet, where the structure of the muscle is intact. Longline fishing causes a stress response in fish. However, stress had no effect on the flesh quality.

Tasty cod

The Culinary Institute of Norway evaluated the quality of longline and trawled cod. They judged longline cod to be significantly tastier than trawled cod. Taste assessors have judged the fish on color, texture, smell, splitting and surface. The conclusion of both groups is that line-caught fish has a much higher quality.

Increased Quality-Consciousness

Autolining is the only industrial fishery where the fish enters the vessel one by one, leaving the opportunity for individual treatment of catch, no external damage and bruises, effective and human killing and hence optimal bleeding. A line caught fish if perfect for presentation on ice in the fish display, and the method is approved among discerned customers and chefs in the high-end segments.

If you go to Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury’s and Waitrose in Great Britain, you will find that the only catch method that is branded on the product is longline. If you travel to Galicia in Spain and go to a restaurant to order a traditional Hake-dinner, the menu will say “Merluza de Pincho”, Hake fished by hook.