Handling Fish

The quality of fish for eating greatly depends on how the fish was handled during the first three hours out of the water, and on whether it was caught by hook and line or in a net. If the fish was caught in a net, the amount of time it was kept there is critical fish—can become bruised and overheated if netted for long periods. Other conditions that influence quality depend on whether the fish was taken aboard the boat alive and how it was bled and eviscerated. Also, the fish should have been refrigerated before its body stiffened into rigor mortis. This point is important because a fish that is expertly refrigerated before rigor mortis sets in will resist bacteria for up to a week, while a fish that is already in rigor mortis when it is refrigerated will have a shorter shelf-life and poorer texture. Finally, to ensure that the fish remains at its peak of quality, it must be kept at the correct temperature during transportation from ship to market.