Is this the right place to ask about making the fullest use of fish and animals? If not, sorry to bother you.

If so, then I am doing research on information, classes, and publications on this topic to add to what I think of as my survival-primitive skill set. I will share what I have found and take any help I can get!

Thanks.

I would think this is an appropriate place.

Speaking from experience, another good source of this information would be your local Chinatown.

-Blast

I know I could use some advice on using animals like deer and elk, but for survival purposes, knowing how to best use non-standard game would probably be helpful. I know some folks eat coon and possum. I don't think I would unless I was really in dire straights, but knowing how to best clean and what parts to avoid would be helpful.

As for Fish, I've always had a pretty standard method - gut and head them, filet or cook whole. Use leftover for bait. You could, of course, cook up the heads (especially on larger fish where there would still be some good meat). And I know many indigenous cultures eat eyes and all sorts of body parts we might otherwise throw out...

Yep, I think this is the right place.

LOL that’s funny


My brother and I were going to a Chinese Buffet tomorrow, now I’m not sure I want to…..





.

I would filet them. Use the rest to make a stew/broth. Boil well and strain.

Blitz

Okay, here's what the past few days research online and friends here and there have suggested to make the fullest use of freshwater fish:

Scales: jewelry, arrowpoints (gar, sturgeon)

Skin: tan, weak glue, fertilizer, render for oil,

Bones: fishhooks, weak glue, fertilizer, hair comb, jewelry, sewing tools, weapon

Swim bladder: excellent glue, fishing float

Entrails: bait, fertilizer

Flesh: food

Eggs: food,

Spines: (catfish) needle, awl, weapons

Carcass minus meat: render for oil, cook for fish stock,

Live small fish: bait

Heads: meat, chowder, brains for tanning, eyes for vitamins (soup or raost)

Fins and tail: fry as “chips”

Jawbones: sawblade, weapon

Of course, except for the food stuff, I do not know the "how-t" on much of this stuff - yet.

Here is the best of my fish glue research so far:

Making Fish glue

Around 1750, the first glue or adhesive patent was issued in Britain. The glue was made from fish.
http://inventors.about.com/od/gstartinventions/a/glue.htm

Fish glue was also made from the heads, bones, and skin of fish, but this glue tended to be too thin and less sticky. By experimenting, early man discovered that the air bladders of various fish produced a much more satisfactory glue that was white and tasteless. It eventually was named isinglass or ichthocol.
There are three classes of substance that are called glues and that do not contain chemicals, compounds, or high-tech additives; these are bone glue, hide or skin glue, and fish glue.
With only minor variations, the same basic processes are used to make bone glue, hide or skin glue, and fish glue. The hides and other scraps are washed so that dirt is removed, and they are soaked to soften them. This material is called stock, and it is cooked either by boiling it in open tanks or cooking it under pressure in autoclaves. The resulting liquid, called 'glue liquor' is extracted and reheated again to thicken the glue.
http://inventors.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ&sdn=inventors&cdn=money&tm=63&gps=208_25_842_814&f=10&su=p554.2.150.ip_&tt=2&bt=1&bts=1&zu=http%3A//www.madehow.com/Volume-5/Glue.html

How to make fish bladder glue by Jang Yuhwa Asian Archery FAQ
Tear the bladder into small strips
Place all the strips into a pot
Cook it in low heat. I soak the thin strips in refrigerator for a day or two, but not using grinder instead, During the cooking process I'll let it cool down and pull them into a blender (for fruit juice) ,filter it then keep cooking till done. About 20~22 hours. The temperature is way below boiling point about 60~70 degrees C.
I have done some test to compare with hide glue, it is stronger than hide glue and its greatest character is its flexibility. There will be no cracking sound when bracing the bow very first time.
Almost everything will turn into glue, if you do it right, I say 99.5% will become glue. The small amount of residual were then consume by me and it tastes like scallop quite delicious. Also when cooking beef stew, in the end a small amount of glue I made will be added. That stew taste 10 times better.
http://www.atarn.org/FAQ/fish_bladder_glue.htm

Fish glue for sale!
Comparable to Hyde glue, Fish glue is an actual collagen (protein) glue. It's the most traditionally used glue in cabinet making and is accepted by most conservators.

Fish glue is: - strong - water soluble – reversible - non-toxic
http://www.ecrantiques.com/fishglue.html

This outfit offers some animal use classes of interest:

http://www.paleotechnics.com/scheduledclassespage.html#Anchor-May-47857

7-5-08: Topics: killing, bleeding, skinning, gutting, gut processing (heart, liver, kidney, intestine, stomach, bladder), brain extraction & preservation, jaw & tongue extraction, meat cutting & preservation, fat rendering, broth-making, sausage making, hoof and sinew extraction, skin preservation, bone working & preservation.

9-10-08: For traditional peoples, animals that are depended upon for food also offer a virtual hardware store of other essential materials. With the lower legs of deer providing our raw material, we will explore methods of processing animal products into useful items. Particulars that are not actually done in class will be discussed and many finished items will be available for viewing. Projects will include skinning, boneworking, hoof removal, and, time permitting, sinew processing. People particularly interested in making a good string out of their processed sinew fiber are encouraged to take the Cordage seminar.

Actually fish glue can be pretty darned strong stuff as it works for glueing leather hinges (for the lack of a better term) for pipe organ resivors or puchs for the same thing...
though it does stink at first

You can render just about any animal out there into an edible powder. IIRC, all animal toxins are neutralized by thermo-degradation (cooking to well done)except maybe certain bacterium, which must reach a temp greater than 240 degrees. In any case, cooking all animal products to such a temperture and dehydrating them should pretty much sterilize them suitably for digeestion. You may need to trim away excess fatty deposits first, but once they've been cooked and dehydrated to a brittle stage, they should be easily ground up and usable as a foodsource, especially fish, which I believe even the bones can be thus processed and consumed by humans.

Having worked in a meat processing facility where none of the animal is wasted, the only thing that keeps us from eating all of the animal is social acceptance and the fact that there's a demand for pet food and leather upholstery. People who eat dog food are eating all the parts of the cow we would otherwise refuse, except for the hide. If it was dog chow or starvation, I think many of us would take the kibble.