The freshly caught fish does not smell bad, but their meat has proteins that break down quickly with enzymes and bacteria, causing odor.

The freshly caught fish does not smell bad, but their meat has proteins that break down quickly with enzymes and bacteria, causing odor.

The fish does not smell quite fresh fish, ie, does not have that smell that you associate with. Maybe a frecor aroma, the sea, not unpleasant. But after a couple of hours after they were fish, their flesh begins to rot and that's when it begins to smell "fishy."

Fish flesh has a protein (other than red meat), which decompose more quickly to suffer the action of enzymes and bacteria. Y is the odor of the decomposition of the amino acids that is characteristic for a considerable presence of ammonia and other amines, compounds that our nose is particularly sensitive.

But the smell does not mean the fish is necessarily bad, as they are perceived long before their meat consumption is undesirable. Just that the more fresh it smells less.

So the fishermen immediately cover the fish with ice and transported in cold storage to the point of sale where the ice is also used. This not only reduces the temperature to avoid decomposition, but prevents the fish dry.