Patent ID: 8512106

Claim:
A fish processing system, comprising: a blade to incise a belly of a fish when the fish is transported from an upstream location across the blade; and a gutting device positioned downstream of the blade, the gutting device including an extractor to sever a gullet from a collar of the fish, the extractor movably coupled to the fish processing system to selectively position a tip of the extractor relative to anatomy of the fish during a gutting operation, the extractor configured to enter a head end of the fish at a first height below a backbone and above the gullet of the fish and exit at a tail end of the fish at a second height that is lower than the first height, an actuator coupled to the extractor to move the extractor between the first height and the second height during the gutting operation, a sensor positioned to sense a location of the fish during the gutting operation and trigger the actuator to move the extractor, and a pair of opposing wing members configured to move between an open configuration and a closed configuration, wherein movement of the wing members is coordinated with movement of the extractor to transition from the closed configuration to the open configuration after the extractor enters the fish and a leading edge of each respective wing member is near a collar of the fish.