Finfish quality

Finfish — whole or fillet; chilled or thawed

The quality assessment checks listed below are specific to finfish; some entries (e.g. gills) relate only to whole finfish, and others (e.g. flesh colour) relate only to fillets. The eyes, gills, scales and slime of finfish, generally deteriorate faster than the flesh. Refer also to the general quality assessment checks for all sensory criteria (opposite), which cover all seafood.

Appearance

Check	Higher quality	Lesser quality	Comment
Colour of Gills	Bright red	Beginning to brown	Not all finfish have red gills. Red around the gills may be blood, which can be a result of the catching method.
Mucus	Translucent, very thin film	Beginning to colour (pink, yellow, brown), clot and thicken	Mucus can be washed out so care needs to be taken if using it as a quality indicator
Gut cavity (if gutted)	Well cleaned, no protruding bones, lining intact	Some yellow or green staining; some torn lining; bones beginning to protrude	If bloodline present, the blood should be bright red. Lining can be torn during gutting.
Eye Colour	Pupil jet-black, shiny, and well defined Cornea translucent	Pupil becoming dull and grey Cornea cloudy, opaque or slightly blood-stained	Finfish eyes can be damaged in numerous ways, and lesser-quality eyes do not necessarily signify poor-quality flesh. Eye cloudiness can result from not icing the fish correctly or fish being in an ice slurry too long. Thawed finfish can have opaque or cloudy eyes as a result of ice harming the structure of eye tissue.
Shape	Lens smooth and bulging (convex)	Lens sunken (concave) or "pushed in" in the centre	Check both eyes—one may be sunken due to physical damage and the flesh may still be of higher quality. Bulging eyes can be caused by pressure changes during capture.
Flesh condition	Firmly attached to any bones,	A few rips, bruises or blood spots; slightly dried-out, ragged edges if cut; separating from bones; slightly gaping	With fillets, also consider (where relevant) clean skin removal, size consistency, and cutting or trimming imperfections.
Colour	Variable (white, grey, pink, red, orange, etc.), but usually shiny, translucent; bloodline bright red	Bleached white, opaque; colour beginning to yellow or brown (i.e. red to brown); wrinkled surface or white cottony patches	Flesh tends to dull and yellow with age. Dry cottony patches or wrinkled product surfaces result from dehydration (known as "freezer burn" when severe).