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swordfish and tends to become firm
and dry if overcooked. Swordfish tends
to have a higher oil content, a richer
flavor and has a texture similar to that
of premium cuts of beef.
Fishing Methods:
Swordfish are
targeted by longline boats when they
swim near the surface at night.
Monofilament longlines baited with squid and illuminated with chemical lightsticks are set overnight.
The gear is set near the surface, in contrast to tuna longline gear, which is typically much deeper.
Adoption of these techniques has developed an entirely new Hawaii longline fishery capable of
landing at least 2 million pounds of swordfish annually.
Swordfish are occasionally caught at night by small-boat fishermen who are handlining or trolling
with lights. Swordfish are also taken as a by-catch in tuna fisheries throughout the island chain.
III. Of Special Interest For Preparation/Quality Control
Shelf Life And Quality Control:
Swordfish has an excellent shelf life as a fresh product, lasting up to 3
weeks after capture with proper handling. To ensure good quality and
prices for their catch, most Hawaii swordfish longliners take extra
precautions. These include dressing the fish, removing the kidneys,
cleaning the belly cavity, and storing the fish in ice. After this initial
processing, the fish is often bagged before being stored in ice.
Saltwater ice is used by some boats. If swordfish is stored on its back
in ice, it will retain a firmer body and will have a better overall appear-
ance. If the fish’s head is removed just behind the eye, enough head
area will remain for gaffing, resulting in less damage to the body.
The highest quality dressed swordfish is firm and retains rough, grooved skin (sandpaper texture)
and metallic silver in its skin color. Flesh exposed along the collar and tail will have red blood lines.
The body in undamaged from handling but may show natural marks originating from several causes.
For example, longitudinal scratches along the body may be left by sea lampreys, or very shallow
oval wounds (“cookie cuts”) may be caused by a species of small shark. These marks do not usually
penetrate to the flesh. Swordfish caught by longlines can be attacked by larger sharks, which tend to
mutilate large portions of flesh. Occasionally, parasites occur that render the adjacent flesh unusable
for aesthetic reasons. Simple trimming can correct this problem.
Product Forms And Yields:
All sizes of swordfish (10 to 600 pounds) are captured on longline gear.
The predominance of 100-300 pound fish in current landings is not surprising because the stock had
never been effectively targeted previously.
Most of the Hawaii swordfish catch is exported to secondary processors as a fresh, dressed product
without tails (known as “Boston cut”). Although it is common for longliners to market their entire catch
at one price, domestic swordfish marketers recognize price differentials for three size classes: