From hooked to cooked Between the ocean and your dinner plate, there are plenty of opportunities for seafood to spoil. Here are the major stops along that route, along with details about what can go wrong at each. Fish are caught using trawl nets, dredges, lines, or gill nets. Once on board, fish are gutted and sometimes beheaded, then stored in ice until they reach shore.
Boats stay out for a day to about a week.
A boat making longer trips needs a freezer on board. In warm waters, they can decompose faster. The crew can wait too long to get fish onto ice or use too little ice. Fish caught early in a multiday trip may begin to spoil before being brought to shore. Photos by Kindra Clineff Between boat and store Louis Linquata assesses fish at the Gloucester Seafood Display Auction.