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Culinary Info and Fish Preparation Q&As
By Fishing & Food Editor Renee Shelton

Fish Purchasing Guidelines:
What to look for when purchasing fresh fish and seafood.

For Finfish:

• Odor: Fresh smelling, without being fishy
• Eyes: Bright, clear looking, full, not sunken
• Gills: Bright red
• Scales: Clung tightly to skin
• Fins: Feel stiff
• Flesh: Firm, is elastic, springs back when it is touched
• Kept: Refrigerated on ice that is self draining, not sitting in melted water

For Live Mollusks:

• Bivalves:
  • Look for oysters, clams and mussels that have their two shells tightly clamped together. Ones that come slightly apart should draw together and close up when touched or handled indicating that they are alive. Discard any that do not react when open when inspecting.
• Univalves:
  • They should react when touched.

For Crustaceans:

• Odor: no strong smells
• Live lobsters: shells should be hard, lobsters should be active
• Shrimp with heads removed: should have shells still firmly attached to the skin and not loose or falling off
• Live crabs: should be active

Remember these are only guidelines or basic information. Contact your local extension service for more detailed information or the latest recommendations, or a seafood governmental agency.

Wanting more information on the web about the above topic? Check out these online resources for purchasing fish and seafood:

From the U.S. Department of Commerce Seafood Inspection Program, information on purchasing fish and seafood:
http://seafood.nmfs.noaa.gov/consumer.htm

Seafood Tips: Shopping for fresh fish, from Gorton's Seafood.
http://www.gortons.com/cookbook/pickfreshseafood.php

From Sea Grant, Graduate College of Marine Studies, University of Delaware, information on fish purchasing, handling and storage:
http://www.ocean.udel.edu/mas/seafood/fresh.html

For information on sustainable fishing, looking for quality fish vendors, and being environmentally responsible when shopping, from the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF):
http://www.environmentaldefense.org/article.cfm?contentid=4021

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More Fish Preparation Guidelines:

Basic food handling safety and preperation guidelines.

Marine Envenomation.

Precautions for amberjacks, barracuda and other carnivorous fish (ciguatoxin).

Improper temperature storage dangers for tuna, mahi mahi, bonito, mackerel and other related fish (scombroid poisoning).

Fish purchasing guidelines (for finfish, mollusks and crustaceans).

Refrigerated storage for fish and shellfish.

Storage times for frozen and canned fish and shellfish.

Catching and keeping fish safely while boating.

Defrosting fish and seafood in a microwave.