mucus covering the skin should be
transparent and glossy. With time it dries
out and dulls, the proteins coagulate to
give a milky appearance, and the color
goes from off-white to yellow to brown.
The mucus is often washed off when the
fish is cleaned.
The eyes should be bright, black, and
convex. With time the transparent
surface becomes opaque and gray and the
orb flattens out.
The belly of an intact fish should not be
swollen or soft or broken, all signs that
digestive enzymes and bacteria have
eaten through the gut into the abdominal
cavity and muscle. In a dressed fish, all
traces of the viscera should have been
removed, including the long red kidney
that runs along the backbone.If the fish has already been cut up, then:
The steaks and fillets should have a full,