CHAPTER 22 



Handling Fresh Fish 



John A. Dassow 



Fish is one of the most perishable of all foods and needs proper care 

 from the time it is caught until it is served or processed. The handling 

 of fresh fish during this interval determines to what extent deterioration 

 takes place from three sources — enzymatic, oxidative, and bacterial. How 

 rapidly each of these progresses during the spoilage of the fish depends 

 upon, first, the application of basic principles of food preservation and, 

 second, the variables of the species and the fishing methods. These basic 

 factors in fresh fish handling will be examined before considering the 

 various steps in commercial practice from the fishing vessel to the retail 

 market. 



Consideration is given in this chapter to the accepted fundamentals in 

 handling fresh fish. Chapters dealing with the various species provide 

 additional information on technological advancements and new process 

 methods in handling fresh fish and shellfish. 



Factors Affecting Freshness 



It is obvious that all fish are fresh when first caught, regardless of the 

 final disposition. On the other hand, a significant portion of the total 

 catch of the United States fisheries, 662 million pounds from a 5.2 billion 

 pound catch in 1961, is marketed fresh^. This includes the whole, drawn 

 and dressed fish and fresh shellfish, but not fresh fillets, which are in- 

 cluded with the frozen fillet total of 158 million pounds. At this point, 



275 



