110 American Fisheries Society 



fish and form a reasonably accurate judgment as to the length of 

 time they will keep. Some of these tests are outlined in detail in 

 a report* presented to The Netherlands Association of Refrigera- 

 tion and are here quoted : 



GOOD FISH. 



Skin is shiny. 



Scales strongly adhere to the skin. 

 Eyes transparent and bulging. 

 Gills bright red. 



Flesh elastic and firm, finger impressions do not remain. 

 Smells fresh also at the opened gills. 

 Mouth and gills closed. 

 Little or no slime on the skin. 



Muscular stiffness has set in in a greater or less degree, when 

 the fish is taken in the hand it bends accordingly little or much. 

 The fish sinks in water. 

 After a short time a fishy smell and slime on the back appear. 



BAD FISH. 



The skin is covered with slime and is spotty. Sunken eyes, 

 cornea dull and untransparent, mouth usually open, gills open or 

 easily opened. 



Gills lose their fresh color and become yellow greyish brown. 



Finger marks in the flesh remain. 



Smell unpleasant, especially at the gills. Held on hand the 

 fish curves over. Sometimes the belly is swollen and bluish, then 

 the fish will float in water. 



In rotting these phenomena increase, in particular, of course, 

 the smell. 



These signs of good or bad fish must not be taken too absolutely. 

 They do not need to be present all at once or in a particular degree 

 to demonstrate the goodness or badness. Sometimes one 

 peculiarity in a marked degree is enough to condemn the fish. 



The amateur dealer should carefully observe the condition of 

 the fish when delivered and attempt to judge with the aid of these 

 tests the length of time the fish will keep. He should carefully 

 check his estimates against the actual results. As time proceeds 

 he will learn what species of fish are the better keepers, and he will 



* From "Notes on the Investigation of Preserving Fish by Artificial 

 Cold," 1913, pp. 33-34, 38-39. The quotation is taken from a memorandum 

 entitled, "Criteria for judging fish preserved by artificial cold," published 

 by the United States Bureau of Fisheries. 



