Frozen fish is safe indefinitely. But its quality gradually degrades the longer you keep it frozen. The best quality comes from fresh fish. But the downside is that it has a very short shelf life. Fresh fish can be safely stored in the refrigerator for 1 to 2 days. This is why stale fish has become a serious problem in some fishing regions where the demand for fresh fish is relatively high.

Take Japan, one of the biggest consumers of fish, for example. The people of Japan love their fish a lot that fishermen have to use bigger ships to go further into the sea to satisfy the high demand. And because catching fish would take a day or 2, they had to devise methods in order to keep the catch’s freshness. First, they carried refrigerators in their ships. Since Japanese get their daily proteins from fish, they could easily tell if it is refrigerated or not in an instant. So they went back to the drawing board. They created a natural environment in the ship—a huge tank filled with water with a small shark in it. The shark would try to eat the fish they caught; this would make the other fish swim away and keep them active. As a result, the ships would arrive to the market with fresh fish.

Well, like any other food items, fresh fish is always better, obviously. You can visit a fancy market for some. But fish placed on thick ice does not automatically mean fresh. Like the seafood-loving Japanese people, you can tell the freshness of fish by looking for these 5 signs.

The FDA has some tips on buying fresh fish and shrimp.

Let’s dive right in.

Look for metallic-like/shiny and bright skin and scales

Fresh fish has metallic-like or shiny, and bright skin and scales.

The skin and scales of stale fish are dull and there may be broken scales.

Fresh fish have full, shiny, and bright eyes

For most people, they rely mostly on how the eyes of the fish look. Fresh fish has full, shiny, and bright eyes. They are noticeably bulging with black pupils.

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Stale fish has sunken eyes. Has milky-like or cloudy pupils as the blackness diminishes. Covered with slight slime, which often times yellowish in color.

Fresh fish is firm and springy to the touch

Look for fish that when touched is firm and elastic. The flesh is white and sticks strongly to the bone; not easily torn. The blood under tissue is red.

After the fish dies, its digestive enzymes still work. And the existence of the naturally present bacteria in the fish contributes to the degrading quality of the flesh. When the fish is becoming stale, its flesh is soft, squishy, and inelastic to the touch; easy to tear. And the blood under tissue is brown. More like chocolate color.

Look for fish with moist, bright red gills

As a respiratory organ, the gills can bring in oxygen only when moist. Fish with its gills still moist indicates it is fresh. The color of the gills is another sign of freshness. The redder the gills, the fresher the fish. Check if the gills are clean; free from foul odors and slime.

The gills in stale fish have already lost its bright red color, usually dark brown. There may be slime present and dirty.

Generally, fish should smell fresh and mildly briny

The odor in other species of fish may be somewhat different. But generally, fish must smell fresh and mildly briny. Freshly caught fish may have that distinct sweet, grassy smell, which disappears after 2 days.

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Noticeable unpleasant, “fishy” aroma is developed when the fish has become stale. The tissues in (saltwater) fish contain a chemical called trimethylamine oxide (TAMO). When the fish dies and its tissues are exposed to air, the bacteria start breaking down TAMO. This creates new chemicals (derivatives of ammonia) that contribute to the strong foul odor.

MAKE FISH STAY FRESH FOR LONGER

Unlike other meat types, fish smells worse because it contains more trimethylamine oxide (TMAO). So if you want to make the fish stay fresh for longer, you need to be extra careful.

Assuming that you are not going to cook the fish immediately, store it in the refrigerator. Ensure it is working well, with a temperature of at least 40°F (4.4°C). But do not just simply store. It can be smelly and stink the inside. Use an airtight container. This will prevent the fish from contaminating other foods. Or store it surrounded by ice. And keep it in the coldest part of the refrigerator. Its quality will degrade if stored in a warmer temperature.

If you are not planning to cook it in the next 2 days, store it in the freezer. Frozen fish will last up to 8 months.

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